FERS Disability Retirement Help: The Quagmire of Past

The balance between times is an important talent to garner, cultivate and help flourish; it is that lack of ability which doesn’t come naturally, but is a necessary tool for living a successful life.  We watch jugglers adeptly perform the feat of seemingly effortless magic — of a dozen balls twirling this way and that, making circles and loops as if in a continuum of timeless fluidity.

We have a past; we live in the present; we look to the future.  The past is based upon our memories and is no more; the present is the existential encounter with Being; the future is based upon our past memories projected into a time anticipated but not yet objectively “real”.

The quagmire of past is the failure to compartmentalize and store away with disciplined severity; the entrapment of the present is when a person allows for the appetitive, lower parts of the soul to dominate; and anxiety about the future comes about when we know that we are wasting our time either by dwelling too much upon the past, or in the manner of our present living.  In the end, the quagmire of past is often a difficulty which cannot be completely controlled, but governed and managed by how we live today.

For those who are employed with the Federal Government or the U.S. Postal Service who are suffering from a health condition but concurrently stuck in the quagmire of past because you cannot believe that you are no longer the same “you” of a decade ago, it may be time to focus upon the present circumstances and plan for a better future by preparing, formulating and filing for Federal or Postal Disability Retirement benefits under FERS, through the U.S. Office of Personnel Management.

Contact a FERS Ret. Attorney who specializes in Federal Disability Retirement Law, and consider that the quagmire of past needs to be replaced with a hope for the future, and getting a Federal Disability Retirement annuity may be the best first step in the present circumstances to achieve that goal.

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.

 

Permanent Disability Retirement from Federal Employment: SSDI & VA Claims

Corollary successes can have a persuasive impact upon an OPM Disability Retirement application — but one must also understand the difference between a “persuasive” impact as opposed to a “determinative” impact.

An approval of disability benefits from the Social Security Administration (SSDI) edges closer to a “determinative” one as to its impact upon a FERS Disability Retirement application.  Note the operative term, however — “edges”.  Under Trevan v. OPM, such an approval from SSDI — so long as the medical basis upon which it was filed is identical to, or fairly paralleling that submitted with the FERS Disability Retirement application — is strongly persuasive upon an OPM Disability Retirement claim.  However, it must still be argued, and certain elements of the SSDI Claim must be shown to OPM for that “persuasive” effect that “edges” towards a determinative impact.

VA Claims — even if you are deemed “Permanent and Total” — are closer to a “merely persuasive” influence upon a FERS Disability Retirement claim.  That is, the higher the ascribed percentage in a VA Disability claim, the greater the chance that it will influence or “persuade” OPM that the FERS Disability Retirement application should be approved.

Use of an SSDI or VA approval should be part of the legal strategy in filing a Federal Disability Retirement application under FERS.  Contact a private OPM Attorney who specializes in Federal Disability Retirement Law and begin to prepare an effective Federal or Postal Disability Retirement application in order to determinatively persuade OPM to approve your case.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire

OPM Medical Retirement Benefits: Isle of Sadness

We have all been on them; metaphorically, it happens to someone all across the world, on any given day; for, the isle of sadness is that small spot in a remote locations — an island or a peninsula — where isolation and a sense of not-belonging occurs.  It can happen to those who appear perfectly content; it can descend upon the happiest among us; it often occurs with devastating force, unexpectedly, without discriminatory resolve nor sensitivity to circumstances.  Human beings are complex creatures, and the isle of sadness is merely a reflection of that state of emotional turmoil.

For Federal employees and U.S. Postal workers who suffer from being on an Isle of Sadness, the circumstances of a medical condition and its impact upon one’s career is often the cause of being placed in that position.  For, the Isle of Sadness is not a geographical location, but a state of being when circumstances close in upon us and the woes of one’s world cannot be so easily solved.

Contact and consult with an attorney who is a Federal Disability Retirement Lawyer — one who specializes in Federal Disability Retirement Law — and consider your options in preparing, formulating and filing a Federal Disability Retirement application. Such an option may be the first step in being able to return from the Isle of Sadness to a world full of hope and promise for the future.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Attorney
OPM Disability Retirement Lawyer

 

Federal Employee Disability Retirement: Advice

The great thing about it is that everyone can give it and no one needs to accept it, let alone act upon it.

Old people think that they have much of it to dispense; young people think that the old people are full of it but don’t understand the world of today; and all the while, those in the middle generally remain silent until it’s too late, anyway, and walk about shaking their heads in disbelief, thinking that if only X had listened.  Parents try and give it in fear of mistakes being repeated from their own past histories; and bosses think with self-importance that the wisdom they disseminate is what brought them to their vaunted status to begin with.

Advice is there to be given; whether people take it is quite another matter.  Now, with modern technology and the Internet, there is more than a fair share — both good and bad.  The trick is to discern between the two extremes.

For Federal employees and U.S. Postal workers who suffer from a medical condition such that the medical condition prevents the Federal employee from performing one or more of the essential elements of one’s Federal or Postal job, the time to seek and take advice on matters central to Federal OPM Disability Retirement Law — of the process and procedure; of the substantive criteria which has to be met; of the gathering of all evidence necessary — is better sought as early as possible in the process.

Not all advice is equal.

Consult with an OPM Disability Attorney who specializes in Federal Disability Retirement Law and begin the process of seeking and applying advice which is crucial in obtain your Federal Disability Retirement benefits.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire

 

Federal Employee Disability Retirement: The Fight

Not everyone relishes one.  Yet, the challenge comes about often when we do not expect it, when our proverbial defenses are down and we cannot muster the energy to properly engage it.  For children on the rough-and-tumble playgrounds, it can be over in a matter of minutes, where a few black eyes, a scrape and a bruise may be the worst of it.  For adults who actually engage in a fist fight, more serious consequences may ensue, and beyond hurt egos and wounded pride, there are laws against assaulting and battering.

But there are many other forms of “fighting”; of neighbors squabbling over overgrown trees which cross fence lines; of public debates and shaming; of aggressive trolls on the Internet.  Time was where once there were unspoken “rules” (like no hitting below the belt; no scratching or kicking, etc.), but with all-out “mixed martial arts” and other forms of unfettered fights, it seems that the art form (if there ever was one) is gone, and the only thing which matters is the outcome.

For Federal employees and U.S. Postal workers who suffer from a medical condition such that the medical condition begins to prevent the Federal or Postal worker from performing one or more of the essential elements of one’s Federal or Postal job, the “fight” is against the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, and fortunately for those who engage in this fight, there are rules by which all combatants must abide: The Statutes, Rules, Regulations and Case-Laws that circumscribe and dictate how the fight must be implemented and managed.

Consult with a FERS Attorney who specializes in Federal Disability Retirement Law and find out what the rules are governing Federal Disability Retirement Law before you are in the “thick of it”; for, you do not want to have been taken unawares by a sucker-punch before you know what to expect.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire

 

OPM Disability Law: The Chasm between Reality and The Law

Non-lawyers will often read “The Law” and expect that reality will conform to the language as it is stated.  That is actually a good sign, in that the expectation of the layperson is that respect for the law will necessarily result in compliance with its dictates.  But language is malleable.  It is subject to interpretation, and that is the field of play which allows for elasticity and the chasm which develops between Reality and The Law.

There are, first and foremost, “The Facts” — and whether or not “The Law” applies to a particular set of facts.  Then, from that application of facts-to-law is the further problem of deciding its significance and relevance, and whether or not there are other contravening facts or opposing case-law or statutory citations which may also impact the direct argument of sound legal analysis.  Then, of course, there can be the further difficulty of people, companies, entities and agencies which completely ignore the law and, more recently, of creating one’s own set of “alternative facts”.

For Federal employees and U.S. Postal workers who suffer from a medical condition such that the medical condition has begun to prevent the Federal or Postal employee from performing one or more of the essential elements of one’s Federal job, it is important to apply “The Law” precisely, relevantly and comprehensively.

More recent cases of a precedent-setting nature may have altered the meaning of statutory interpretation in a subtle, more favorable manner, and thus is it important to consult with an an experienced attorney who specializes in Federal Disability Retirement Law in order to obtain the greater benefit in evaluating your case, lest the chasm between Reality and The Law be so great as to defeat one’s own attempt within a greater pool of lacking the proper knowledge in applying the law to your particular set of facts.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire

 

FERS Medical Disability Retirement: Vital Signs

We tend to take them for granted; yet, when an emergency arises, they are the first indicators we search for in determining whether and to what extent the concerns are justified or not.

Vital signs — whether of pulse, heartbeat, breathing or consciousness — are like left and right turn indicators that forewarn of an impending action, and when they weaken or disappear altogether, it becomes an event with traumatic consequences.  For the most part, vital signs are overlooked and are forgotten about.  We do not go through a normal day worrying about our pulse, or our heartbeat, leaving aside our consciousness; for, in the act of taking such things for granted, we assume that our capacity to live, work, eat and play in themselves are signs of conscious intent, and therefore can be ignored.

Vital signs are vital only in the instance of an emergency, when the question itself emerges as to whether that which we presume to be the case no longer is, or is doubtful as to its existence.  But life is more than the aggregate measure of vital signs; its quality must be measured by the compendium of circumstances, what we do, how we see ourselves and what hopes for the future are collected and maintained.  Vital signs are merely those “basics” that are taken for granted; but beyond, there is the question of one’s quality of life.

For Federal employees and U.S. Postal workers who suffer from a medical condition such that the medical condition impacts upon one’s quality of life precisely because work is a constant struggle, one’s health is a persistent problem and where one’s personal life is overwhelmed with fatigue, pain and misery, consideration must be given to file for Federal Disability Retirement.

In the end, life is more than checking to see if those vital signs exist; in fact, it is vital to life to have a certain quality of life, and that is what Federal Employee Disability Retirement is all about.

Consult with an experienced attorney who specializes in FERS Disability Retirement Law to see whether you may qualify for a benefit which is intended to return the vital signs back to a state of presumed existence.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire
OPM Medical Disability Retirement Attorney