It may sound harsh; it may even sound “mean”; but I often tell my potential clients that I am not their therapist, doctor, or empathy-advisor. I am their attorney. When advising people to respond to an Office of Personnel Management denial with some “discretion”, it is often difficult for an individual who is so closely tied with his or her own case, to remain objective and detached. Yet, detachment is the mark of professionalism, and that is why the old adage is true — that an individual who represents himself in court has a fool for a client.
My job as an attorney who represents Federal and Postal employees to obtain Federal Disability Retirement benefits under FERS & CSRS must be guided with a focus of understanding the factual context, the medical conditions, the type of job, the symptomatologies manifested by the medical conditions, and apply the law governing disability retirement issues. If I become a therapist, it detracts from my focus; if I become an empathy-advisor, I become “attached”, as opposed to de-tached. That is not to say that I will not listen to the relevant medical background (note the confusing double-negative, which merely means that yes, I will listen, to some extent) — I certainly will. But only to the extent that will allow me to win the case for my client. For, that is my job: to get an approval from the Office of Personnel Management. If I am successful at that, then my client will have gained all the needed empathy of the world: a semblence of financial security.
Sincerely,
Robert R. McGill, Esquire
Filed under: OPM Disability Actors - The Applicant, OPM Disability Actors - The Attorney, Reflections of an OPM Disability Retirement Lawyer, The Job of a Federal Disability Attorney | Tagged: addressing the reason for OPM denial, an emotional vs. reasoned personal account of disability, An employee appealing OPM's denial, an injured postal worker can always get an "early out" retirement, anger over the opm disability benefits denial, best legal representation for disabled usps postal workers, controlling anger and disappointment after opm disability denial, criteria of a good opm disability attorney, deciding if you need an opm disability attorney of a stress therapist, detachment when dealing with an csrs disability lawyer, disability law opm attorney helping federal workers across the usa, early out for disabled postal workers with application, early out option for injured postal workers available but not authomatic, federal compensation for federal workers with disability denial, federal disability lawyers not immune to emotional issues, federal government medical disability, federal government medical retirement, federal lawyer defending rehab postal workers, FERS disability retirement, fighting to get federal government disability, focusing on medical substantive issues not emotional problems, focusing on the substantive issues of an opm denial letter, focusing on winning a fers disability case not to winning empathy, human emotions, if disabled postal employees need an "early out", if the postal worker is denied opm disability benefits, if you are denied worker employment benefits in the usps, Keeping Emotionalism to a Minimum, keeping emotions under control will help an opm disability applicant, legal help after first application denial, legal resources of injured federal worker other than workers comp, medical disability from the post office, nationwide representation of federal employees, OPM disability retirement, Postal Service disability, postal service disability attorney, the attorney client relationship in establishing a fers disability claim, the attorney's role during the opm disability process, The Denial at the First Stage, the denial disability letter issued by the opm, the fine balance between rational and emotional factors, the functions of an attorney and the injured federal employee, the job of a federal disability retirement attorney, the opm disability attorney and federal worker client relationship, the proper role of a lawyer and of a trained therapist, the relevant medical information in opm disability, using an attorney in federal disability retirement cases, usps denial of injury compensation, USPS disability retirement, voluntary early retirement for ill or injured usps workers, What criteria should I use to choose a good Federal Disability Attorney?, when the client wants the lawyer to be a therapist, when the federal owcp workers comp denies your claim, winning your federal disability retirement not your sympathy | 1 Comment »
OPM Disability Retirement 
OPM Disability Retirement: Differing Perspectives
The old adage, “Walk in your fellow man’s shoes for a mile” is a saying which is meant essentially to teach a child (and many adults) to have a different perspective than one’s own, self-centered universe. In practicing law, it is a good idea to attempt to obtain a perspective from the multitude of differing “shoes” — and this is especially important in putting together a Federal Disability Retirement application under FERS or CSRS.
The gathering of such differing and different perspectives — that of the treating doctor; that of the applicant; that of the Agency (the Supervisor and the Agency in its determination that accommodation or reassignment is not available or appropriate for a given employee, given the particular medical conditions and the type of positional duties of the specific job which the Applicant must perform, as well as taking into account what constitutes “efficiency” in the Federal Service, etc.); and further, that of the Office of Personnel Management.
It is the job of the Attorney representing a Federal or Postal employee in preparing a Federal Disability Retirement packet under FERS or CSRS, to pull together the various perspectives; write up and prepare, and gather the information from the multiple and differing perspectives; to neutralize those perspectives which may impact negatively upon the Federal disability retirement application; then to present the fullness of the different perspectives such that it meets the legal criteria and “perspective” of the Representative from the Office of Personnel Management: that “ultimate” perspective which determines a “yes” or “no” in determining the viability of a Federal Disability Retirement Application.
Sincerely,
Robert R. McGill, Esquire
Filed under: OPM Disability Application - SF 3112 Disability Retirement Application Package, The Job of a Federal Disability Attorney | Tagged: a compelling medical case for federal employee disability retirement, a rational perspective from your disability claim evaluation, accommodation of federal employees, applicant's statement of disability, attorney that helps injured and ill federal workers, creating a strong case to qualify for fers disability benefits, CSRS disability retirement federal attorney, each opm disability stage requires a different approach, early out for disabled postal workers with application, federal disability law and legal argumentation, federal disability lawyer to handle opm disability denial, federal employee disability retirement, federal employee medical retirement, FERS disability retirement, gathering medical documentation for an incapacitated federal employee, getting together different perspectives and making a compelling case, going out on medical disability opm, help for injured or ill federal employees seeking medical retirement, help in collecting medical evidence and putting package together, how to neutralize negative information in your postal disability application, if reassignment is not possible for the light duty federal worker, job reassignment, letter carrier occupational illness, Maintaining an Objective Perspective in a Disability Case, making a compelling federal opm disability case, medical as well as legal factors may determine eligibility in opm retirement, medical condition(s), medical disability lawyers opm, medical incapacitation at the federal agency, neutralizing negative comments and/or information for the disability applicant, occupational illnesses in federal jobs, old adage, OPM disability retirement, opm disability retirement new jersey employees, Post Office disability retirement, postal buyout always available for injured postal workers, Postal Service disability, proof of disability for federal workers, pulling together several perspectives for the fers disability application, putting a federal disability case together, rational perspective into the fed workers' medical condition, top federal disability retirement attorney, USPS disability retirement, when accommodation is not available to the injured federal worker, writing up a legal summary and putting together an opm disability application, your treating doctors | Leave a comment »