Federal Employee Disability Retirement: The Words We Choose

Is there a psychological study of those who choose certain words as opposed to others?  Does the choice of words reveal who we are?  Antiquated words — like “husband and wife” — as opposed to the modern usage of “partners” or “significant other”; do they merely unravel a generational divide, and has the replacement verbiage been thoroughly vetted, thought out, considered, reflected upon?

“Partners” certainly implies an equality of station, as does “significant other” (where “neutrality” of gender identification appears to be the primary purpose) — but in the end, someone has to empty the dishwasher, take out the garbage, pick up the dog poop, cut the grass, change the diapers, work to make enough money to earn and make a living, etc.; and when all is said and done, the division of labor seems to naturally work itself out such that the words we choose matter less as one grows older.

The words we choose often reveal more of the innocence of our inexperience, more than some politically meaningful apparatus of choice.  In fact, what we think we choose is often done without thought, is forced upon us, or we are hoodwinked into thinking that certain words — by merely stating them — somehow empowers us, when in fact they merely conceal our insecurities.

“Husband” is the guy who takes out the garbage and opens the door for his wife to enter; “Wife” is the woman who softens the coarseness of a still-insecure guy who fell head-over-heels to marry his wife.  “Disabled”, too, is a relative term, but in a Federal Disability Retirement case, it has a special significance which requires thoughtfulness in the words we choose when preparing, formulating and filing for Federal Disability Retirement benefits under FERS.

The word-usage and choosing of words is relevant and significant; for, as the legal standard to meet for eligibility purposes in a Federal Disability Retirement application is different from other venues, the words we choose are important in preparing, formulating and filing an effective Federal Disability Retirement application under FERS, through the U.S. Office of Personnel Management.

Contact a FERS Attorney who specializes in Federal Disability Retirement Law and take care in the words which are chosen.

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.

 

Federal Medical Retirement: Eager Wishes and Little Thoughts

We all have them both, don’t we?  Of eager wishes: We wish for wealth; we wish for fame; we wish for friendship; we wish for love.  Wishes project us; they compel us; they motivate, even though such wishful thinking may never become fulfilled.  And so they remain little thoughts — “little” in the sense that they remain mere thoughts, mere wishes, with little chance for fulfillment.

It is often the little thoughts which loom large, if only because they reflect the fundamental needs and desires of most everyone.  Perhaps it is those little thoughts combined with eagerness which results in unfulfilled dreams and hopes, when the imagination expands beyond the monotony of our lives and we become sustained by the little thoughts, prompted by those eager wishes.

Much of life is a negation; of not having, of never fulfilling, of rarely achieving; and yet, when it comes to children, we fill their heads with grand dreams of illusory abstentions.  We tell them, “You can be whatever you want to be” or “live out your dreams”.  No wonder that cynicism easily and readily dominates in early life; and so the eager wishes and little thoughts replace the fairytales we tell our children, if merely to sustain their lives within the containment of reality.

For Federal employees and U.S. Postal workers who suffer from a health condition such that the health condition necessitates preparing, formulating and filing an effective Federal Disability Retirement application under the Federal Employees’ Retirement System (FERS) through the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, it may well be that the eager wish is to cease the madness encircling you between the disabling medical condition and your inability to perform all of the basic elements of your job.

It may seem like a “little thought” to file for Federal Disability Retirement benefits under FERS, and your eagerness may be restricted by the daunting task of engaging a monster of a bureaucracy like the U.S. Office of Personnel Management.  But do not despair; such an eager wish upon a little thought may be attained through the assistance of a lawyer who specializes in Federal Disability Retirement Law.

Contact a disability attorney who exclusively does Federal Disability Retirement Law and begin to advance your eager wishes of the little thoughts which make for life’s sustenance.

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 Medical Retirement from OPM: The Altered Life

We tend to think that, at some point in our lives, there is a problem of the static — of lacking any action, movement or change.  Perhaps that is why some people engage in a life of crisis, of a second puberty or what was once termed “going through a phase” — of needing to suddenly change in an effort to grasp and hold onto one’s youth, whether misspent or not.

We see it today more and more — of old people trying to act like the foolish young; and so, why would there be any respect for age or wisdom, since everyone seems to be acting like every other young person?

There is, of course, some comfort found in the static life — as reliance and dependence upon a static world is the foundation of calm and peace.  The altered life — one of change, of new challenges and movement towards a different direction — often seems like a threatening and foreboding circumstance to avoid.

Medical conditions are like that — of an altered life, whether because one must face chronic pain, change the way one accepts a certain quality of life, or if it involves psychiatric conditions, a level of acceptance in one’s cognitive capacity.

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 altered life is consumed by the medical condition itself, and the way to counter the alteration is to combat it with another change — in the case of Federal and Postal employees, of considering filing for Federal Disability Retirement benefits through the U.S. Office of Personnel Management under FERS.

Contact a FERS Disability Lawyer who specializes in Federal Disability Retirement Law, and consider that the altered life need not remain static within an alteration you do not want to accept, but that there can be an altered life after the initial onset of the medical condition which altered your life to begin with.

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: Irrelevancies Magnified

Irrelevancies noted are often an indicator of a scheme for distraction; or, sometimes it is merely an incapability of the observer to miss the point.

Thus, for example, the fact that a person may have 20/20 vision but concurrently have blind spots encompassing over 50% of multiple quadrants of vision, doesn’t mean that a person can see adequately to read, drive, perform in one’s profession, etc.  From one perspective, the 20/20 vision is magnified upon those areas where the blind spots do not exist; from another perspective, it is the obstructive blind spots which are magnified — whereas, the irrelevancies of the 20/20 vision fail to be taken into account in the practical aspects of maneuvering in and about this world.

It is like seeing a naked man running down the street with a butcher knife — what is the relevant factor, the knife or his nakedness?

For Federal employees and U.S. Postal workers who are suffering 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, watch out that OPM doesn’t focus upon the irrelevancies magnified — for, that is precisely what they do in denying a Federal Disability Retirement claim.

Contact a FERS Disability Lawyer who specializes in Federal Disability Retirement Law, and make sure and rebut — whether preemptively or in response to a Reconsideration — the irrelevancies magnified by OPM.

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: Nothing New Under the Sun

Nothing is ever new under the sun; it is only from the perspective of the new that “newness” is perceived.  Thus, if you live long enough, you will witness the identical political issues come around, the same problems crop up, and parallel arguments made.

History has an innate cycle; it is merely our memories which fail to recognize the repetition.  Sometimes, of course, the old metaphor of something being dressed up in wolves’ clothing is also appropriate — meaning, merely, that the issue itself is an old one; it has merely changed its appearance in order to make it look new.

From the newborn’s perspective, of course, everything is new, fresh and pure — well, maybe not pure, if you count the dilapidated buildings, bridges and abandoned ballrooms.  To the newly initiated, the term “new” merely means that it has not previously been encountered; no memory of it exists; and the newness is based upon the premise that it has not been experienced until now.

Nevertheless, despite the protestations by the newly initiated that it is “new” to them, the plain fact is that there really is nothing new under the sun.

Why do we use the term, “under the sun”?  Because it describes the parameters of our phenomenological experience — of this universe and this planet.  Even the recent video footage from the drone helicopter showing us the “new” terrain on Mars is not really “new”; it’s been there for centuries.

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 medical condition itself is clearly something “new”.  Filing for Federal Disability Retirement benefits through OPM will be a new experience.

What you want to do, however, is to consult with a Federal Disability Attorney whose experience and knowledge will show that even that experience is nothing new under the sun; otherwise, you might end up being guided by someone who doesn’t really know what he or she is talking about.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Lawyer

 

FERS Employees with Disabilities: The “Weak” Case

All Federal Disability Retirement cases are weak at the outset.  A Federal Disability Retirement case must be built from the foundation up — like houses, buildings, marriages and children.  Is one FERS Disability Retirement case qualitatively different from another?

Sure — the potentiality exists, but unless properly prepared, almost all cases can be lost.  There is the occasional one — a devastating, traumatic event which orthopedically disables an individual, leading him or her to have to retire medically from a physically-intensive position.  But those are the rare exceptions, and exceptions never make the rule.

And don’t be misled: “Building” a Federal Disability Retirement case is neither illegal nor unethical: It is what must be done, properly, in order to effectively formulate a case.  One must solicit and gather the supportive medical evidence, then build the case from that important foundation.

Contact a private OPM Attorney who specializes in preparing, formulating and filing (including representation at all stages of the Federal Disability Retirement process) an effective Federal Disability Retirement case. While your case may seem “weak” at the outset, it is the strength of building which will determine the ultimate outcome.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire

Federal & Postal Disability Retirement: The Imperfect Storm

We hear often about its opposite: The “perfect” storm.  For, it is the combination of coincidences which coalesce that result in that greater calamity which we all allegedly want to witness: Of winds howling at destructive speeds; of the tides reaching their pinnacle; of other natural forces bringing to fore the ferocity of supernatural strength — and all together, the aggregation of beauty within fear.

But what about the imperfect storm?  The one that merely is ordinary and without much fanfare?  That is what most of us represent — of nothing exceptional; where history did not note, nor did it grab the attention of the front pages.

Most lives are ordinary, in that sense, where we represent an imperfect storm, not worthy of even a mention in a footnote.  A birth; a life; somewhat of a career; a sickness; an illness, then death.  But within that spectrum of ordinariness is the tale of human triumph and suffering; it’s just that we don’t notice it, and barely give it a second glance, precisely because it was never advertised as the “perfect” storm.

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, perhaps your case fails to merit a mention as a “perfect storm”; although, from your perspective, the calamity of a career-ending illness or injury will likely be seen by you as such.

Consult with an attorney who specializes in Federal Disability Retirement Law, and begin the process of preparing an effective Federal Disability Retirement application, lest your imperfect storm become one of greater imperfection by receiving a denial from the U.S. Office of Personnel Management.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire

 

OPM Disability Retirement under FERS: The Missing Details

We often know generally about a person’s life — of this person’s promotion in a career or that person’s recent tragedy; or perhaps we read about someone’s travels or another’s triumphs; but it is often the details that we are never given.

How important are the details?  It all depends.  Whether it is from that antiquated show entitled, “The Rest of the Story” or from the rote telling around the dinner table from Grandpa’s memories, the narrative told often leaves out important details, or fills us with too many irrelevancies as to detract from the main point of the story.

Sometimes, details are deliberately omitted — as in veterans of foreign wars who generalize about the fear and mayhem experienced, but leave out crucial details, whether for fear of reliving them or to spare the listener uninvited descriptions of horrors encountered.  Other times, too many details are given, and like the storyteller who knows not how it will all end, so the fact of bringing up the minutiae of irrelevancies may provoke a yawn of boredom when peppered with ingredients that will not bring out the taste and flavor of the main course for dinner.

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 missing details in one’s narrative may be crucial — or an irrelevant distraction.  The “story teller” of one’s story concerning a medical condition may not be the most “objective” person to tell that needed story, precisely because a sense of objectivity is often lost when the Federal Disability Retirement applicant is both the “patient” as well as the main character in this narrative journey of trying to become a disability retiree under FERS.

Consult with a FERS Attorney who specializes in Federal Disability Retirement law, and find out what the missing details are, what details are necessary and where the details fit into the greater picture of life’s misgivings before an audience of bureaucrats at the U.S. Office of Personnel Management.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire

 

Federal & Postal OPM Disability Retirement: The Troubled Life

In one sense, all lives are troubled; otherwise, we would not be speaking about life at all, for “life” itself is a series of troubles encountered.  Every now and again, we hear about a life which was “privileged” or “blessed” — of a carefree, essentially trouble-free existence.  But how long can that last?  And was it truly an advantage to have such a childhood?  For, part of “growing up” and preparing for the “real world” is to introduce internal tools to “deal” with problems encountered.  If a child is not properly prepared to handle and engage in the task of problem-solving, then he or she will indeed be at a disadvantage when first entering the world at large.

There are troubled lives, and then there are the rest of us — of lives with troubles.  The troubled life is one in which transition from childhood to adulthood never occurred because proper preparation was never allowed for.  The troubled life that the rest of us lead — of a life full of troubles, often like an endless series of problems to be solved — is simply the norm of regular living.  This life is a troubled one precisely because life itself presents an endless series of challenges to be solved; and it is the “how” of that encounter that makes all of the difference. It is never a static continuum, however, and there are times in life when there are more troubles than in other times.

For Federal employees and U.S. Postal workers who must confront the troubles of a medical condition and all that it entails in trying to perform all of the essential elements of one’s Federal or Postal job, the time to file for Federal Disability Retirement benefits may have arrived.  Proper preparation; an effective application; the “tools” needed to maneuver through the complex administrative process; these are all “troubles” which need to be confronted and “problems” to be solved.

The “troubled” life for a Federal or Postal employee contending with a medical condition remains so unless the tools of resolution are applied, and in order to utilize the proper tools to resolve the troubled life, it is best to consult with an attorney who specializes in Federal Disability Retirement Law.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire

 

FERS Disability Retirement: The subtlety of first light

Have you ever stood outside when first light breaks upon the darkened grounds?

How you struggle to see as your feet stretch forward with trepidation, unsure because of the shadows that befall, and with squinting eyes and a deepened sense of sleepiness, you struggle with the dawn of pre-dawn solemnity; and then, with such creeping imperceptibility, the world around begins to come into focus like the steamed mirror that suddenly lifts to show a reflection of a man standing and staring back at you; and the world in its sharp clarity unravels and manifests with a form of Being in its truest essence of Being.

When does the subtlety of first light sharpen into an image of unmistakable lightness of Being?  Can you ever pinpoint the moment?

It is always the incremental nature of beauty that creeps upon us, like the stealthy impact of the perfect word, the unannounced comma and the hyphenated pause; or like medical conditions that begin with a slight unease, evolve into a nuisance and become a chronic presence that just won’t go away.

Perhaps you cannot point to a particular day, or even a period when you first noticed that you could no longer perform one or more of the essential elements of one’s Federal or Postal position?  Like the subtlety of first light, there is no way to quantify the precise moment where darkness and light once clashing became the dominant force of visual clarity when once dawn reached beyond the rim of the universe?

Yet, on Standard Form 3112A, Applicant’s Statement of Disability, it asks the question when you, as a Federal or Postal employee, first became disabled — i.e., unable to perform one or more of the essential elements of your Federal or Postal job.  It is an important question and should not be lightly answered; for, there can be some dire legal consequences if you put down the “wrong” answer.

A “misstatement” can come back to bite; both in monetary terms, as well as providing a basis for an inconsistency where the U.S. Office of Personnel Management can use it selectively, as they often do, and extrapolate from other sources and argue that the inconsistency is more than mere coincidence, but a deliberate attempt to mislead and obfuscate.

And like the subtlety of first light, the answer to a question posed on SF 3112A is more than a fight between light and darkness; it is a question posed that may determine the success or failure of a Federal Disability Retirement application.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire