OPM Medical Disability Retirement: The Crumbling Society

There is often a correlation between one’s personal perspective and how one views the greater society at large — of a personal crisis paralleling a view that the objective world is crumbling or, conversely, of a contented individual seeing the world with a less pessimistic outlook.

Is the world crumbling?  The news abounds with a constant stream of problems and disasters; of “breaking news” 24/7; of buildings suddenly collapsing, weather patterns of constant extremes, of corruption and indictments, and the political process in a perpetual turmoil of bickering and childish displays of retribution.

Medical conditions can influence the perspective of an individual, and such a perspective is often one of a hopeless and dire future.  For a more balanced perspective, it is often necessary to contact an attorney who can give you the straight facts about your legal rights and inform you about the process involved in preparing, formulating and filing an effective Federal Disability Retirement application under FERS.

If you are a Federal or Postal employee who suffers from a medical condition and can no longer perform all of the essential elements of your job, contact a disability attorney who specializes in Federal Disability Retirement Law and seek the proper advice on what to do for engagement in the process of a FERS disability retirement, as well as an added perspective on the crumbling society around us.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Lawyer

 

Federal & Postal Worker Disability Retirement: Comparative Suffering

Human beings have a need — or perhaps, merely a desire — to compare one another’s status, stature, standing and state of suffering, as well as other non-alliterative issues.  Suffering is a state of existence which can be compared — of the extent, severity and qualitative basis — as well as the responses and reactions thereto.

How much can an individual endure?  Is our own suffering “as bad” as the next person’s?  How is it that some people can withstand with apparent aplomb an avalanche of suffering while the next person can barely handle a de minimus amount?  Can we really quantify suffering, or is it based upon the tolerance-level of each individual which determines the capacity of any response?  Does comparing one’s own suffering really help in the therapeutic recovery of a coping individual?

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, comparing one’s medical condition to the next person’s medical condition is actually the wrong approach in considering whether or not to file for Federal Disability Retirement benefits.  Rather, the “right” comparison is with the essential elements of your particular job, and whether or not you can perform all of them.

Contact an OPM Disability Lawyer who specializes in Federal Disability Retirement Law and make sure that the comparative suffering is between apples and apples, and not between the misguided comparison of apples versus oranges, or even of comparative suffering between incomparable medical conditions.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Lawyer

Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) Disability Retirement: Unique Problems

Every individual is beset with unique problems; for, it follows from the details of each circumstance, the particularity of each issue and the application of specific concerns which each individual faces, etc.

Medical conditions represent unique problems; and for Federal and Postal employees who suffer from a medical problem such that the medical conditions no longer allow for the unique compatibility between the medical issue and the essential elements required of one’s Federal or Postal job — such unique circumstances will require an individualization of a specific nature in preparing an effective Federal Disability Retirement application under FERS.

By “unique”, however, does not mean “unfamiliar”.  An experienced attorney in FERS Disability Retirement Law who understands the complex issues surrounding a Federal Disability Retirement case can differentiate between irrelevant facts and issues, and the core issues which impact a Federal Disability Retirement application.

Contact a Federal Attorney who specializes in Federal Disability Retirement Law and begin the process of streamlining the unique issues and circumstances relevant to your particular case.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Lawyer

 

Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) Disability Law: Loss of a Cosseted Life

What does it mean to “take things for granted”?

Often, it is only when something is taken away that the value of the vanished item of vacuity vainly verifies the validity of its valuation.  Sorry for the alliterative illustration.  Similarly, the cosseted life is one where over-indulgence of protected care may have existed, and the sudden or gradual disappearance of that sense of security leaves one vulnerable and potentially open to harm.

Health, itself, offers the cosseted life; and loss of it, an overwhelming sense of vulnerability.

In youth, when health is so often taken for granted, we are apt to embrace challenging and silly endeavors.  We might jump out of planes, for instance; or engage in other acts of mindless stupidity.  We expect failing health in the metaphorically twilight days of our lives, but when it occurs in the middle years, it often catches us off guard, and the loss of a cosseted life is felt all the more fervently.

For Federal employees and U.S. Postal Workers who suffer from a medical conditions such that the medical condition prevents the Federal or Postal worker from performing one or more of the essential elements of one’s Federal or Postal job, the sequence of dealing with the loss of that cosseted life often follows a familiar pattern — First, attend to the medical condition; Next, try and accept the available treatments such that a return to a level of functionality may be attained where your Federal or Postal career can continue.

Then, if the medical condition reaches a level of chronicity such that it becomes clear that you will not be able to perform all of the essential elements of your Federal or Postal job, contact a FERS Lawyer who specializes in OPM Medical Retirement Law.  For, in the end, the loss of a cosseted life should never be the end of something, but rather the beginning of a different phase, a varying period, an alternate condition, and a future still available for adaptive living.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Lawyer

 

Long-Term Disability Federal & Postal Employees: The Doubt of Openness

We have all seen it: In sports, and particularly in basketball, where a singular player suddenly finds him or herself alone in the open court, the ball in hand, with no one anywhere near.  All that the player has to do is to dribble, take a few steps and lay the ball into the basket.

What happens?  There is a hesitation.  Why?  Because the normal course of things has not occurred — no defender, no opposition, no crowding, no attempt to block him, etc.  The doubt of openness makes the player hesitate.  Or even in football — a wide opening for an offensive back or a catch in the open field, with the goal post open and a clear pathway with no opposition.  Then the hesitation, the look back, the sudden doubt of openness.

For Federal employees and U.S. Postal workers who suffer from a medical condition which prompts an initial, tentative look at the forms required for Federal Disability Retirement benefits — the “openness” and simplicity of the questions asked may make you believe that the field before you has a clear and unimpeded pathway.  Then the doubt of openness will, and should, suddenly prevail.  Because, in the end, there is no clear path in a Federal Disability Retirement case, and the opposition will appear suddenly enough once it is filed with the U.S. Office of Personnel Management.

Contact a Federal Disability Lawyer who specializes in Federal Disability Retirement Law in order to quell the chimera resulting from the doubt of openness.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Lawyer

 

OPM Disability Retirement under FERS: Developing the Viable Case

There is often a “twilight” period in the course of struggling with a medical condition — where the impact of the medical condition begins to slowly interfere with work competence, daily living activities and physical / mental capabilities; where the doctors are considering whether the medical conditions are chronic and intractable; and what this all means for the future.

There can be a “tipping point” on either side of the case: Perhaps some minor adjustments and accommodations can allow you to continue in your career; or, you may have come to a point where it becomes clearer and clearer that your medical conditions are incompatible with the type of work you do.  Wherever you are in the process, developing the viable case should include clarifying the legal issues inherent in considering a FERS Disability Retirement case.

Consult with an OPM Disability Attorney who specializes in Federal Disability Retirement Law, and begin the process of considering where you are in the twilight period of your case.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire

 

Federal Employee Disability Retirement: Going It Alone

Perhaps the maverick wins, or dies while trying and is buried anonymously in an unmarked grave; or the soldier who leaves his platoon and attempts to go behind enemy lines to save his buddies; or in a city of millions, a lonely heart who yearns for mere company but is too shy to even try.

Going it alone is a lonely proposition; it invites a sense of isolation, separation, abandonment and irrelevance; for some, it is a mark of courage; and for others, a mere trifle of the fool.  Perhaps there are times when it is appropriate to “going it alone”; for the most part, however, in this day and age of expertise and specialization, it is necessary to consult the advice, counsel and guidance of knowledgeable sources.

For Federal employees and U.S. Postal workers who suffer from a medical condition such that the medical condition prevents the Federal or Postal worker from performing one or more of the essential elements of one’s Federal or Postal job, going it alone is often an unwise and inadvisable approach in preparing, formulating and filing an effective Federal Disability Retirement application with the U.S. Office of Personnel Management.

Consult with a Federal Disability Retirement Lawyer and consider whether or not investing in your future is a worthwhile endeavor, and whether “Going it Alone” is an act resulting from an intelligent decision, or a fleeting thought best left to Shakespeare’s Fool.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire

 

FERS Disability Retirement: Vanishing Point

It was a 1971 movie that had a cult following, about a drug-addicted war hero wagered to transport a high-powered vehicle within a specified period of time from point A to point B.  Whether the story had a discernibly rational plot or not was beside the point; the story entertained, and we gleaned from it whatever points we read into it.

That is probably one of the primary reasons why the movie gained in such popularity: people argued as to the “meaning” of the move and its ending, all the while never realizing that there was never a single answer.

Life is often like that, and perhaps that is why the movie itself gained so much attention.  The meaning we demand from our own lives is often a matter of our own lack of imagination; we ask too much of concepts which have too little to give.  As one of the character’s father stated in a Woody Allen movie, How can one know about the greater questions of the universe when “I can’t even get the can opener to work”?

For Federal and Postal employees who need to file for Federal Disability Retirement benefits, the “vanishing point” may differ from person to person.  What you do not want to do, however, is to let the Agency or the Postal Service to determine the timing, nature, place and context of the “vanishing point” of your career.

Consult with a FERS Disability Attorney who specializes in Federal Disability Retirement Law, and take control of your own “vanishing point” before a cult following you don’t even know about, develops behind your back.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire

 

Federal Disability Retirement Benefits: Descending Into

Whether into the arena of the devil’s playground or into insanity, the metaphor always seems to include a descent, and not its opposite, an ascent.  Why heaven is above and hell is below has been lost for its context and underlying meaning; the perspective of “up” as opposed to “down” must somehow be relevant, but science has certainly diminished the metaphorical significance by debunking any notions about time and place.

We now know that the sun does not “rise” and “set” in the rotational movement of the earth; that from the perspective of deep space, there is no “up” or “down”, and that our place within the universe is but a small, insignificant pinhole within the context of a greater universe.  But the human story, regardless of the cold perspective provided by science of an “objective” world, is that we descend into madness, descend into hell, and descend into chaos.

Language is a peculiar animal in this way; it uses its ordinary sense within a culturally relevant context, but when that context disappears or is no longer “alive”, the old manners of usage become an anomaly of puzzles.  Yet, even with its loss of cultural significance, “descending into” somehow maintains its appropriateness when it comes to mishaps, tragedies and difficulties.

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, descending into greater chaos and difficulties may be mitigated by preparing and filing an application for disability retirement.

Consult with an attorney who specializes in Federal Disability Retirement Law, and begin the process of ascending towards another life beyond the Federal or Postal sector, thus preventing descending into a state of turmoil and possible termination.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire

 

Disability Retirement for Federal Gov. Employees: Something Less

This is a country that has preached abundance for multiple decades, a couple of centuries, and certainly for a lengthy run on the concept: Expect more, not something less.  It has been touted as the flagship of opportunity, a place where dreams come true and hope abounds.  There has never been a view towards something less, for something less is an unacceptable concept to endure.

Commercials and television ads tout that we can “have it all”; that with a pill, things will be better; that if you buy a certain product, magic occurs; and if you whiten your teeth, everyone will like you better.  But what if life occurs where something less must be accepted?

Federal Disability Retirement pays 60% of the average of one’s highest 3 consecutive years of service for the first year, then 40% every year thereafter.  It is something less than what a Federal or Postal employee makes, but certainly something more than “nothing”.  It then actually does allow you to make something more — for, on top of the 60% the first year and 40% every year thereafter, you are allowed to go out into the private sector and make up to 80% of what your former Federal or Postal position currently pays.

Of course, your medical condition has already made you realize that life has to be adapted to with something less — something less than your full health; but Federal Disability Retirement does allow for something more, as well: Of a career beyond the Federal government.

Consult with an attorney who specializes in Federal Disability Retirement Law, and obtain the counsel and guidance of something more in dealing with a medical condition which has already resulted in something less — in terms of health and your ability to perform all of the essential elements of your Federal or Postal job.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire