Permanent Disability Retirement from Federal Employment: The Importance of Relevance

How does one determine “relevance”?  Relevance, in the end, is the logical connection established within a context of something being said or done.  We know it when its opposite is exposed — as when a person begins to speak extemporaneously and wanders off beyond the confines of the subject at hand.

There are consequences to irrelevance: Students begin to skip classes when lectures focus upon the irrelevant; meetings become lengthy acts of boredom; movies, books and other mediums lose their audience; and the focus of whatever is being done or said becomes lost in a maze of peripheral non-issues.  The importance of relevance is defined by the unimportance of irrelevance; we know the former when too much of the latter is infused.

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 importance of relevance at all levels of preparing, formulating, filing and appealing one’s OPM Disability Retirement application cannot be overemphasized: Contact an attorney who specializes in the area of Federal Disability Retirement Law and make sure that your FERS Disability Retirement application is based upon relevant information, and not the superfluous inanities which can defeat your purposeful focus — of obtaining an approval of your OPM Disability Retirement application.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire

 

Federal Disability Retirement: When Hiring a Lawyer

When hiring a lawyer or a law firm, what are your expectations and who are you hiring?  Are you hiring an “Intake Officer” (whatever they are); a paralegal; a legal assistant; a “Disability Specialist” (whatever THEY are) — or are you hiring a lawyer?  That is, a person who holds the law degree, who is entitled to practice law, and who is the knowledgeable “expert” in the field of Federal Disability Retirement Law?

How can you tell?  Do you know you are hiring a lawyer merely because someone tells you so?  Or, are these the indicators: When you make a call, the lawyer answers your call.  When you leave a message, the lawyer calls you back.  When you send an email, the lawyer responds.

Or: You always only speak to an “assistant”, and never to the lawyer; the “Disability Specialist” (again, what is a “Disability Specialist” — and what does it mean to be a “specialist”, especially if you aren’t a lawyer?) is always the one who seems to be handling your case; and what happens if your case get denied at the Initial Stage of the Federal Disability Retirement process, and then again at the Reconsideration Stage of the process — who will see you through at the U.S. Merit Systems Protection Board?

When hiring a lawyer or a law firm, make sure that you are actually getting what you are paying for: An actual FERS Disability Retirement Lawyer who will guide you with his experience, wisdom and legal acumen.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire

 

Federal Disability Retirement: Righting the Mistakes

Some have posited that we actually need 2 lifetimes: One for living, and another for righting the mistakes made in the first lifetime.  Then, a “Mark-Twain humorist” once quipped that, No, human beings need at least 3 lives — the first to live; the second to right the mistakes of the first; and another to do all of the things we always wanted to do but didn’t get a chance to because we were too busy worrying about it.

Life, indeed, is a series of regrets, and most of us still have consciences such that we worry and ruminate about the mistakes we made; how we go about “righting” those mistakes; and finally, on our deathbeds, to simply cry out for forgiveness because the weight of our past is too much to bear.  We can spend most, if not almost all, of our lives trying to correct the errors of our error-filled past; and, if not that, to worry about it.  Often, we don’t even know that we are making the mistakes until it is too late, or until that moment of revelation when we say to ourselves — How did I get myself into this mess?

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 is important to try and file an effective and — as much as possible — an error-free Federal Disability Retirement application.  There is much to be worried about in filing a Federal Disability Retirement application: the complexity of the process itself; the legal hurdles which must be overcome; the bureaucratic morass that must be fought.

Consult with an attorney who specializes in Federal Disability Retirement Law and try and avoid the mistakes at the outset. In Federal Disability Retirement, you surely do not want to spend your “second life” righting the mistakes of your first life.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire

 

FERS Medical Retirement: Drawing Up the Battle Plans

Are they necessary?  Or, is pure talent, brawn and a willingness to sacrifice one’s life — enough?  Can a military officer simply say to his or her troops, “Well, we have overwhelming numbers; let’s just pick up our weapons and overrun the enemy”?  Or, is a “battle plan” necessary, even for a short foray to test the strength, weakness or vulnerabilities of enemy lines?

Most would contend that a battle plan is a crucial aspect for any considered conflict, and that merely relying upon strength of numbers or sheer determination of will to fight are not enough.  History is replete with examples of inferior numbers winning against great odds, precisely because a superior plan had been considered and implemented.  It is not necessarily the boldness of a plan, or even that a plan is clever or masked in subterfuge; rather, the clarity of a mission, the simplicity of protecting flanks and doubling-back in reinforcing weak links — a plan which the troops understand and comprehend as to its logic and potential outcome for success — is critical for any successful attack.

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 position, preparing well, formulating meaningfully and filing in a timely manner are all part of the “battle plan” for a successful foray into the territory of Federal Disability Retirement Law.

Consult with a Federal Disability Attorney who specializes in FERS Disability Retirement Law and begin drawing up the Battle Plans for a successful venture in obtaining your Federal Disability Retirement benefits.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire 
OPM Medical Disability Retirement Attorney

 

FERS Disability Retirement from OPM: A Lifetime

Isn’t that enough?  Shouldn’t it be?  Or, do we feel obligated to append a dependent clause, as in, “A lifetime of achievements,” “…of having accomplished X, Y and Z”, or even: “A Lifetime devoted to…”.  Must there always be the subsequent appendage, or isn’t living a lifetime enough in and of itself?

Was Aristotle right in depicting human beings (and everything else in the universe) as possessing a purposive reason for existence; or, as the French Existentialist had declared, does existence precede essence, and instead of being fated with a predetermined destiny and an inherent basis for being born, we can simply “make up” the reason for our essence and thrive in whichever direction we choose, in whatever endeavor we decide upon?

Is simply having a “lifetime” not enough?  Must we always have a reason and rationale for our existence?  Or, is it enough to have an ending, like Yasujiro Ozu’s tombstone which simply has the characters of “Mu” — “nothingness”?  Ozu certainly “accomplished” much; as a director, he is recognized for his quiet brilliance and insightful dialogues, as well as depicted scenes of serenity and human conflict.  In the end, it was merely a lifetime, and nothingness followed except in the minds of those whom he left behind.

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 his or her job, the “thing” that often compels the Federal or Postal worker into working beyond what the medical condition allows — i.e., of “working one’s self to death” — is a sense that having a lifetime is not quite enough.

There is the “mission” to accomplish, or the work that needs to be completed, etc.  But when it comes to the critical point of choosing between one’s health and such a perspective of accomplishments, there should be no indecision: Life itself is precious, and one’s health is the foundation for a life.

At that point, filing for FERS Disability Retirement makes sense, and consulting with an Attorney who specializes in Federal Disability Retirement Law should be the next step after realizing that a lifetime is, indeed, sufficient.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire