OPM Medical Retirement: Delaying the Inevitable

In our “heart of hearts”, we already know.  Whether it is a broken relationship, an unrepairable mechanical device, the old air conditioning and heating system that has seen its last days — or of needing to file for Federal Disability Retirement benefits under FERS — we already know; and yet, we delay the inevitable.

Do miracles happen?  If we stop thinking about it, will the problem just somehow go away?  Out of sight, out of mind?  Human beings have that capacity, don’t we?

Whether it is beyond the next mountain, sometime after Labor Day, maybe in the New Year — or “sometime next week” where next week is always the week after; whatever the timeframe we allow for the delaying of the inevitable, we focus upon a hope which surely must someday encounter the reality of our circumstances.  The inevitable is just that — a reality which we must face; but the delay allows for an interlude and self-delusion to procrastinate the encounter with reality.

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, delaying the inevitable — of needing to file for Federal Disability Retirement benefits under FERS with the U.S. Office of Personnel Management — is often engaged in because of the great hassle in facing a dominant and dominating Federal bureaucracy.

Contact a FERS Disability Attorney who deals with OPM on a daily — nay, hourly — basis, and leave the inevitable to an experienced lawyer in preparing, formulating and filing an effective Federal Disability Retirement application.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire

 

OPM Disability Retirement for Federal & Postal Workers: Lost Paradise

We all have a notion of it; for some, it may just be a memory of a day at the beach; for others, somewhere in the recesses of a childhood memory; and for others still, the reality of a time before an illness, the rise of a medical condition or even of that moment when a doctor declared a diagnosis.

Paradise itself is a relative term; it engenders images of perfection and pleasure; of endless joy and a state of eternal mirth; or even of a negation of sorts.  For, if a person lives in constant agony, doesn’t it stand to reason that the negation of that agony would represent a paradise of sorts, and the loss of that state of happiness occurred because of the existence of whatever created that state of agony?

One who burns in hell would consider a momentary cessation of the agony of eternal torture to be a slice of paradise, and the lost paradise no more than regretting the sins committed.  We rarely consider the greater good as that which we take for granted, and that is why when we are confronted with the hypothetical proposition of “3 wishes to be granted by a genie”, we jump to material goods or conditions of physical pleasure, unlimited wealth or a time of perpetual joy.

Rarely do we include the wish for good health when we already enjoy it, precisely because the paradise one lives in, until lost, is assumed as eternally granted.

For Federal employees and U.S. Postal workers who suffer from a medical condition such that the lost paradise of good health no longer allows for continuation in one’s Federal or Postal career, it may be time to consult with a FERS Attorney who specializes exclusively in Federal Disability Retirement Law in order to prepare, formulate and file an effective Federal Disability Retirement application.

Don’t let the lost paradise of former days extinguish a future of hope and betterment; for, the mythological state of a paradise lost need not be a perpetual state of dread and dismay.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire

 

Federal and Postal Employee Disability Retirement: Meaning & Mediocrity

Although the words and the concepts behind them may never come to light, they haunt us throughout our lives without even knowing it.  “Meaning” is what drives an individual; the self-awareness of mediocrity is what tugs at us as we fail to achieve the goals which drive.

Most of us, at some point in our lives, come to the conclusion that — though each individual is unique and possesses certain talents and exceptional qualities — mediocrity is what defines us.  Yes, yes — when we were children of loving parents, they constantly drilled into us the “special” gifts we were to the world, of being “the best” and how we could grow up to be anything we wanted, etc.  But at some point in adulthood, we came to the realization that there were others, as well, who were better at things than we were, and that the vast majority of individuals reside somewhere in the middle of talents disbursed at the gates of birthrights.

Yet, despite that realization that we belong to the ranks of mediocrity, we find meaning in the things we do, of who we are and of what small accomplishments we can achieve.  And that’s okay — for, not everyone needs to be a superstar or take the lead role in life; every theatrical play must have minor role players; otherwise, there would only be a one-person act, and that can become boring, fast.

Meaning is what fuels the engine; a realization of mediocrity is merely a reality-check that is relative.  One needs only to look up at the stars on a clear night to reveal the insignificance of our existence relative to the vastness of the universe, no matter how talented we are.  Yet, to the pet dog or cat (the latter is added only to avoid discriminating against cat-lovers) who is well taken care of, and whose lives are one of comfort and love — for them, the master is not among the ranks of mediocrity, but of a special set of individuals taken in the highest regard.  And from that small hollow of greatness, meaning can be extracted.  For, what better meaning in life than to give another living being happiness and joy?

For Federal employees and U.S. Postal workers who suffer from a medical condition such that the medical condition has likely ended one’s career with the Federal Agency or the Postal Service, filing for Federal Disability Retirement benefits often leaves one with a sense of mediocrity and loss of meaning.  Yet, like all processes, it is simply another bump along the rough road of life, and it is important to realize that there are other things to achieve beyond one’s Federal or Postal career, and that meaning can still be found after the end of one’s Federal or Postal career.

Consult with an Attorney who specializes in Federal Disability Retirement Law today, and begin to find greater meaning in a world beset with mediocrity; and, in the meantime, go and pet your dog or cat, for they find great meaning and certainly do not see you among the ranks of mediocrity.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire

 

Federal Disability Retirement Lawyers: Guarantees

It turns out that — in this time of modernity where language can persuade anything and anyone on everything everywhere — that a guarantee is not quite what it proposes.

Is a “money-back guarantee” a guarantee at all?  To say to X, “I guarantee you an outcome-O; but if it doesn’t turn out that way, then I will give you your money back.”  Huh?  How is that different from no guarantee at all?

Okay, so maybe you receive a refund — but you are in no better position than if no guarantee was made to you to begin with; it’s only that you received a refund of your own money with nothing else to show for it.

Disjunctives essentially nullify the affirmative assertion of a statement.  Thus, to say that, Well, I guarantee you X or (beware of that disjunctive) if X doesn’t occur, then Y — is to merely give with one hand and take it back with the other.

Life in general, as we all know, rarely has any guarantees at all.

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 process of filing for FERS Disability Retirement benefits is complex enough without being mislead into thinking that entitlement is a guarantee.

It is a benefit that must be fought for, and as all fights worthwhile have a cost to be paid, it is well to consider that an attorney who “guarantees” an outcome should be approached with caution.  Seek the advice of counsel who provides worthy guidance — not one who “guarantees” something that cannot be guaranteed.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire