OPM Medical Retirement: Of a World No Longer

One can lament the destruction and non-existence of what once was; or, following upon youth’s folly where memories have not yet formed in order to compare and contrast anything in the past and therefore such lamentations cannot be validated, we can just walk about in ignorance.

As we grow older, we perhaps exaggerate the pleasantries of our past — of a world no longer in existence.

Was it better “back then”?  Obviously, it depends largely upon whose perspective we are seeing the world from.  From the perspective of those classes of individuals who were once oppressed, where discrimination and legally-enforced restrictions of opportunities constituted the mainstay of daily living, perhaps that yearned-for world that is no longer in existence, is the not the preferred opinion.  Yet, even among the previously – oppressed, there is often a nostalgia for the simplicity of days gone by.

“Worlds”, of course, can take on different meanings.  It need not refer to large chunks of civilization’s great epochs; instead, it can be — from an individual standpoint — a person’s own prior period of one’s lifespan.

Thus, for Federal employees and U.S. Postal workers who now suffer from a medical condition such that the condition no longer allows for continuation in one’s Federal or Postal career, of a world no longer in existence may be represented by that individual of some distant past who was vibrant, healthy and able to take on the world.  That is a world which no longer exists, because of a medical condition which will not go away.

Contact an OPM Disability Lawyer who specializes in Federal Disability Retirement benefits from the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, and let not the past — of a world no longer — dominate your present or future comforts.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill
Lawyer exclusively representing Federal and Postal employees to secure their Federal Disability Retirement benefits under FERS from the U.S. Office of Personnel Management.

 

FERS Disability Retirement Law: “It’s Behind Us”

The phrase can, without context, mean a number of things.  In story-writing exercises, a phrase such as the one referenced may be thrown at a student, and the student must then formulate the context surrounding the phrase, in order to give it “meaning” and relevance.

For example:  Perhaps it is a story about a haunted house, and two children are looking about, cautiously walking from room to room, when suddenly they hear a creaking noise, and one whispers to the other “It’s behind us!”  Or, it could have a completely different context — of a family crisis and how the various individuals deal with the problem, and when it is finally resolved, the wife turns to the husband and declares, “It’s behind us.”

Context is important, and relevance comes about only when the context is sufficiently fleshed out.

For Federal employees and U.S. Postal workers who suffer from a medical condition such that the medical condition prevents the Federal or Postal employee from performing one or more of the essential elements of one’s Federal or Postal job, it begins with a medical condition.  From there, however, the “context” must be fleshed out — the relationship to one’s job; whether or not there is a possibility for an accommodation; what “fleshing out” needs to be done within the context of the law, etc.

In a vacuum, a medical condition cannot “win” against the U.S. Office of Personnel Management in attempting to secure a post-employment Federal Disability Retirement annuity.  It is the experienced lawyer who can help in fleshing out the context in order to ground your case in relevance and “the law”.

Contact a lawyer who specializes in Federal Disability Retirement Law, and begin the process of formulating the relevant context in preparing, formulating and filing an effective Federal Disability Retirement application under FERS, through the U.S. Office of Personnel Management.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill
Lawyer exclusively representing Federal and Postal employees to secure their Federal Disability Retirement benefits under FERS from the U.S. Office of Personnel Management.

 

FERS Disability Retirement Benefits: The Wall

Everyone hits it; whether in writing, in speaking; whether of a career or in a marriage; and whether in a metaphorical sense, or a true feeling that simply cannot be avoided.  Walls are structures that stop, contain, prevent or present an obstacle.  The question is: What do we do about it?  Do we simply stop, turn around and go back to whence we came?  Do we sit at the foot of the wall and merely groan incessantly, hoping that time will crumble the materials of stoppage and somehow it will all just go away?  Or do we attempt to do something — cut a hole through it, climb over it, try and find an alternate route around it?

How we solve problems; what tools we bring to the fore; the manner in which we attempt to tackle life’s conundrums; these are the mark of a successful approach to each and every wall built as an obstacle to the pathways that are presented to us in life.

For Federal employees and U.S. Postal workers who suffer from a medical condition such that the medical condition prevents the Federal or Postal employee from performing one or more of the essential elements of one’s Federal or Postal job, the walls are many: First, there is the wall of the medical condition itself; then, there is often the wall of the Federal Agency or the Postal Service who cares not about the medical condition, but only that the work is accomplished and completed.  Then, there is the “wall” of the U.S. Office of Personnel Management — the very agency which will decide the Federal or Postal employee’s Federal Disability Retirement application.

Consult with an OPM Disability attorney who specializes in Federal Disability Retirement Law, lest the wall of denial that is potentially looming prevents you from moving beyond your medical condition and your inability to perform you job duties.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire

 

Disability Retirement for Federal Workers: Perfection in the details

Why is it that we never question the statement, “Well, this is an imperfect world; but in a perfect world…”.  What is “perfection” and who defines it?  Doesn’t it all depend upon the details within the definition?  Is a “perfect world” the same for everyone, across all cultural lines and within every community?  Or does it vary depending upon one’s background and upbringing?  Would a picture of a “perfect world” be the same, say, for a pious, religious zealot as opposed to a hedonist?  How about the contrast between a Libertarian and an Authoritarian?

So, in a recent description about an individual who was known to have held conservative religious beliefs, but who concurrently believed in weapons production and advanced technological weaponry, the question was asked by a student whether there was a contradiction between faith held and work engaged, and the answer was: “Well, in a perfect world, we wouldn’t need any such weapons; but this being an imperfect world, we would have to defend ourselves.”

To this answer, of course, there appeared no “follow-up” question; but shouldn’t there have been?  Such as: What is your vision and definition of a “perfect world”?  Well, one might answer, a perfect world is one in which everyone is allowed to be free to do what he or she wants without fear of retaliation or offense.  But is that a viable vision of a perfect world?

As freedom and liberty is never a license for unfettered actions, so a Hobbesian State of Nature cannot be the foundation for perfection.

For Federal employees and U.S. Postal workers who suffer from a medical condition, such that the medical condition prevents the Federal or Postal employee from performing one or more of the essential elements of one’s Federal or Postal job, the lack of perfection achieved is already self-evident: One’s health is a testament to that; and the manner in which the Federal Agency or the Postal unit has reacted to one’s health, is also an indicator of an imperfect world.

Filing for Federal Disability Retirement benefits through the U.S. Office of Personnel Management may not be the perfect solution for the circumstances one is in, but then, we neither live in a perfect world nor must contend with a semblance of one.  Perfection matters in the details of every endeavor, and it is the striving towards perfection that matters, not in the achievement of it.

In preparing a Federal Disability Retirement application, always remember that there is never a “perfect case” where OPM will unquestionably approve it; but in preparing an application for Federal Disability Retirement, it is wise to seek the counsel of an experienced attorney in order to reach a level of perfection where, in retrospective regret, one does not have to needlessly say, “Well, in a perfect world…”

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire