FERS Medical Retirements: Future Uncertainties

Human beings love certainties; but in this cold and objective, dispassionate world, such certainties can rarely be relied upon.

Hume’s causation argument undermined any attempt to establish repetition as a basis for future events, precisely because X occurring the thousandth time gives us no concrete evidence that the next time will result in any causal reliability.

Probability theory aside, as Hume argued, there is missing any “necessary connection” which would establish a predictable nexus to extrapolate future reliability based upon prior life events.  Without that necessary connection, causal certainty can never be ascertained.— or so his argument goes.

Yet, we continue to rely upon future certainties regardless of such “conceptual proofs” to the contrary, for, what other choice do we have?  We cannot wander throughout our lives  without reliance upon some semblance of causal expectation, otherwise, we would be like newborn infants every day with no sense of security or stability.

For Federal employees and U.S. Postal Service workers under FERS who suffer from an illness or injury which impacts their future certainty in their Federal or postal career, a large stumbling block is the uncertainty of being approved for a future medical retirement application.

Although there can never be a causal guarantee when it involves the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, you can increase the probability of a successful outcome if you are adequately represented by an experienced attorney.

Citing the proper and relevant case laws and formulating the most effective legal arguments will increase the probability for future success.  To that end, applying to OPM does not need to seem like reinventing the proverbial wheel every time, or like being that lost child wandering in the woods without any sense of security.

Contact a FERS Lawyer experienced in Federal Disability Law, and increase your chance for a more certain future, despite what Hume says.

Sincerely,

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

 

OPM Medical Retirement: The Line Between Sanity and Madness

Is it demarcated by a thin line, or is it more likely that the gradual, insidious transformation was fraught with all sorts of signs and indications, but we merely ignored them?

Was the rise of the Third Reich a surprise — or was it an inevitable consequence of the punitive Treaty of Versailles?  When Russia warns of the possibility of a Third World War and use of nuclear weapons, and our response is that such talk is merely “bluster” — is this not the road from sanity to madness?  How do we know, definitively, that it is mere “bluster”, and isn’t the margin of error so thin when it comes to nuclear war, that we should never underestimate any reference in the use of such terms?

The line between sanity and madness is thin precisely because we fail to recognize the signs and symptoms which separate the two.  One day, an apartment building stands tall and by all appearances, sturdy; the next, it is a pile of rubble where flesh and bone have been crushed and pulverized.

From sanity to madness; but what about the signs which revealed themselves, perhaps for a decade — of complaints of shifting, of growing cracks in the walls, of eerie “groaning” noises in the middle of the night; and then, one day, the building collapses, or the bridge falls down…or someone drops a nuclear bomb on a city.

For Federal employees and U.S. Postal Service workers who suffer from a medical condition such that the medical condition has now become a state of madness — where it becomes clear that the prior state of commonplace sanity is no longer feasible — it is best to contact a disability attorney who specializes in Federal Disability Retirement Law, and begin the process of putting your life back together by reassessing what it will take to recreate that thin line back behind the line of sanity, by preparing, formulating and filing an effective FERS Medical Retirement application, to be submitted to 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.

 

OPM Medical Retirement: Insularity of Silence

It is of comfort when needed; like a cocoon, or perhaps the desire of reverting back to a womb-like existence; and in times of sorrow, the need to be left alone.

Silence is often uncomfortable for many; in this world of endless cacophony, where noise is the necessity of Heidegger’s suspicion that we work, play and engage in hobbies merely to avoid the reality of our existence, of eventual mortality and the thought of nothingness; and of the constant clatter of social media, of being “connected” — in the midst of it all, insularity of silence is often a welcomed respite.

One only has to stay a night in a rural part of this country to realize the pervasive pollution of lights, sounds and — noises.  Lights can often give some comfort, for to “see” is the prevailing basis of a sense of safety.  Sounds, too, when they are familiar, create an invisible network of familiarity, and thus appease our fears.

Noise — that clatter of unfamiliarity, jumbled together — is what we often need escaping from.  Sometimes, silence itself is a comfort, and the insularity it provides can be the blanket of warmth we require.  For, are we organically organized to receive a constant and incessant barrage of metallic clanking?

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 insularity of silence often becomes a detriment, only because being silent and “bucking up” each day and working without complaining is often what OPM will argue as the basis of a denial.

If your Agency says you are doing a good job even though you are killing yourself in keeping up with your duties, the U.S. Office of Personnel Management will use that as evidence that you are not disabled “enough” to qualify for Federal Disability Retirement benefits under FERS.

Contact an OPM Medical Retirement Attorney to discuss how to counter such inane arguments, and see whether or not the insularity of silence which you continue to cloak yourself in is helpful, or harmful, to your Federal Disability Retirement case.

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.

 

Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Disability Retirement: Leaving Chunks Out

Sometimes, if done carefully, the abbreviated story “works” better — if the punch line makes sense despite leaving the chunks out.

For many years, I had been under the impression that I had read the full text of a major novel of stupendous length (you can guess which one it is — yes, of the Russian sort).  I later realized that it was an “abridged” version.  When I then read the unabridged version, my conclusions were: the editors of the abridged edition did a better job; the chunks left out did not add to the story, and should likely have been edited out to begin with, leaving a shorter abridged edition without identifying it as an abridged edition.  And finally: The Russian author was clearly too impressed with his own verbosity.

“Leaving chunks out” is often done in other contexts, as well — as in, responding to a spouse’s question, “What took you so long to come home?” — you leave out the fact that you had stopped off at a local bar and sat and drank for a couple hours.  Of course, the next obvious question in that context is: “How come you smell of alcohol”?

Leaving chunks out when the motive and intent is underlined by a nefarious paradigm is where the problem resides.

The U.S. Office of Personnel Management does this all of the time in their denial letters:  They extrapolate only the selective portions of the medical record which will support a denial; they will ignore “the law” and the application of the law; they will make statements which “imply” certain consequences, and multiple other actions (or inactions) which leave chunks of information out.

Contact an OPM Attorney who specializes in Federal Disability Retirement Law, and make sure and force OPM to do what they are supposed to do: Of being an objective and uninterested party in the determination of your Federal or Postal Disability Retirement application under FERS.

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 & Postal worker OPM Disability Retirement: The Untold History

We live in historic times.  We are witnessing it.  We are constantly told that.  We sense it.  We somehow “feel” it.  Whether we believe ourselves to be “political” people, we are nonetheless drawn into politics by the mere fact of our existence within a society which involves political decisions, political input, political opinions and political circumstances.

History forces us to engage in politics; history-in-the-making demands our choosing of sides; and history as currently lived requires our attention.  But what about my own personal circumstances, you ponder — who takes note of that?  Why are the untold histories of countless thousands not important, irrelevant, and unnoticed?

That is the frustration of all: Of the untold history, the silent majority (unconnected to the popular movement of the late 60s and early 70s); the footnotes in historical compendiums which no one ever reads.

For Federal employees and U.S. Postal workers who suffer from a medical condition which will require filing an effective Federal Disability Retirement application with the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, the untold history is the one which should be taken care of as a priority, despite the public history which so dominates the consciousness of the public.

Contact a FERS Disability Attorney who specializes in Federal Disability Retirement Law and begin the process of initiating the untold history of your private life.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire

 

OPM Disability Retirement Attorney Help: The Story to Tell

We all have one.  The younger generation who are just beginning to get married and have kids of their own, are now asking of their parents to write them down for posterity’s sake.  Yes, there are history books telling of each generational challenges, but from whose perspective are they being told?

The “personal” account — of the “I” in an experience of living within a cultural period of recognizable segmentation of events unfolding — is what people yearn for.  More than ever, now, with this pandemic and the changes imposed upon our society, the individual perspective of the person whom we “personally” know, becomes all the more poignant and relevant.

For Federal employees and U.S. Postal workers who suffer from a medical condition and are contemplating filing for Federal Disability Retirement benefits under FERS, there is a story to tell — of how the medical condition impacts one’s ability and capacity to perform his or her job; the need to hide one’s inability because of the fear of ensuing harassment; the stories which never “tell” the truth, such as performance ratings and official position descriptions which fail to detail the exact nature of one’s job, etc.

Contact an attorney who specializes in Federal Disability Retirement Law and begin the process of storytelling — of one’s Statement of Disability on form SF 3112A.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire

 

FERS Medical Retirement for Mental or Physical Incapacity: The Path Forward

In some ways, the concept itself is redundant.  For, the phrase implies an alternative issue — the path backwards, or sideways, or the metaphorical “fork in the road” of which we must choose, etc.  But those pathways have already been traveled, considered, investigated, ventured upon — and all have been already found to be the “wrong” direction.

Forward — it is the only remaining path, and the only issue left to consider is how to forge it and in what direction to take.  There is no “going back”; and trying to take the circuitous route instead of a direct assault forward will only delay matters and perhaps make things worse.  Forward is the path, and the path forward is the way to go.  Going back is merely to go over an already-worn and tiring direction and will ultimately get you nowhere except to become stuck in the past.

We must, instead, take our circumstances as they are, assess the damage already done, then begin to cut through the bramble bushes and forge a new pathway forward into the future.

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, the path forward is to prepare an effective Federal Disability Retirement application under FERS and move forward in presenting it to the U.S. Office of Personnel Management for an approval.

In doing so, it is advisable to consult with an OPM Disability Attorney who specializes in Federal Disability Retirement Law.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire

 

Postal & Federal Employee Disability Retirement: The Theme

Every story has a theme.  It is the topic, the “subject”, or just an idea — that recurs throughout the narrative.  For David Copperfield, perhaps it was the constant struggle between ignorance and knowledge; for Salinger’s Catcher in the Rye, maybe the phoniness of the life we lead in contrast to the author’s personally horrific experiences during WWII.

Every person’s life has a them; most of us, unfortunately, fail to recognize it, and it is this very failure which often leads to the repeated mistakes made throughout.

The story of one’s Federal Disability Retirement application should have a theme — one which is woven throughout one’s narrative in a Federal Disability Retirement application, especially in the Applicant’s Statement of Disability as delineated on SF 3112A.  Beset with dealing with the medical issues themselves, the Federal or Postal worker will often fail to recognize the theme — perhaps it is one of constant struggle for the past year; or, the progressive deteriorating as reflected in the medical notations here and there.

Whatever the theme of one’s story, a FERS expert in Federal Disability Retirement Law will be able to squeeze from the quietude of one’s story, the theme which overrides and pervades throughout.  Contact an OPM Disability Attorney who specializes in Federal Disability Retirement Law and begin to formulate your theme which will persuade OPM of the validity, poignancy and necessity of your Federal Disability Retirement application under FERS.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire

 

FERS Disability Retirement: The Garden of One’s Mind

The metaphor has been used often enough; whether it enhances or enlightens one’s knowledge of one’s self is of dubious prospects.  The physical, objective entity identified as a “garden” is simple enough in being defined: it must include some plants and soil; perhaps a few rocks or boulders to enhance the natural contours of the landscape; and a person who “tends” to the garden — i.e., a “gardener”.

Can there be wild gardens without a gardener?  In other words, can you walk through a forest and come upon a clearing where there are flowers and various plant lives, and declare, “Oh, what a beautiful garden!”?  Similarly, can a person who lives in an apartment who has a collection of potted plants have the “right” to say to someone, “You should come and admire my garden sometime.”?

Purists may object to the application of the term “garden” to either of those described scenes, but a looser definition is still widely accepted in this modern age where malleability of language is a given.  Then, of course, there is the “stretching” of language’s boundaries by applying the metaphor of a “Garden of one’s Mind”.

What can it mean?  It often refers to the state of one’s mind: Of whether one has allowed for too much neglect and has failed to “prune” the overgrowth or let the weeds overtake; of failing to replenish the soil or allowed by disease and decay to overshadow.

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 concept encapsulated in the metaphor of the garden is appropriate.

For, like the untended garden, the Federal or Postal employee who suffers from a medical condition must apply the same principles as the gardener who must begin to prune and replenish: decisions about the next steps, of what to cut out or whether one can leave things as they are; these are all contained in the metaphor within the Garden of One’s Mind, and it may be a first step to consult with an attorney who specializes in Federal Disability Retirement Law before making important decisions like career changes and leaving the Federal government.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire

 

Disability Retirement for Federal Government Employees: In the way

We talk about objects being “in the way”; of an accident on the road and we complain, “Why can’t they just pull over and get their vehicles out of the way?”  We use similar phraseology when we “objectify” human beings, as in — when we seethe with anger and retribution at some person — the threatening tone of: “Stay out of my way!”

Does the subtle (or not so subtle) alteration in language’s usage determine how we treat another human being?  When a driver gets irritated with a bicyclist who is not so adept at keeping a straight and narrow line on the roadway, do we forget suddenly the value of human life and see it merely as an “object” that is “in the way”?

And when you read of stories of human tragedies — of a person who negligently ran over a person and seriously injured or — worse, yet — killed a pedestrian, we realize the thin line between insanity and rationality, of love and hate, and the vulnerability of passions left out of control and going berserk when it is often the language we use so carelessly that leads to the tumults of life’s misgivings.

Objects are often “in the way”; can it ever be that people are also?  Do we bypass one another and ignore the plight of others because of our capacity and ability to objectify those very subjects we want to ignore and avoid?

Utopia is an idea of human perfection; the reality of this real world is quite different, where love, cooperation and human compassion lags far behind because the essence of human nature is far below the paradigm of perfection.  Honking the horn at something “in the way” when one is backed up on the highway in a state of frustration may well shed one of some frustration — until we learn later on that it was the body of a young child hit by a car because he was “in the way”.

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 concept of “in the way’ is a familiar one — for, the Federal or Postal worker has knowledge of it both as an object, as well as a subject.

The “medical condition” itself is “in the way” — seen as an object that has become an obstacle. Conversely, the Federal Agency or the Postal Service begins to see that once-stellar, high-performing individual — you — as something “in the way” of the Federal Agency’s “mission” and the Postal Service’s “work”.

When the Federal Agency or the Postal Service begins to see a Federal employee as an object, as opposed to a subject, then you know it is time to begin to prepare, formulate and file for Federal Disability Retirement benefits from the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, lest you become another casualty left in the heap of roadside debris as a passing car yells, “You were in the way!”

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire