Federal Medical Retirement: The Track Meet Unasked For

Do you ever “feel” as if you were all of a sudden in a race which you never asked to be entered into?

That you find yourself running and gasping for breath, seeing others with such ferocious intensity, smooth rhythmic strides in beautiful garments of sweatsuits and runner’s outfits, all doing the same thing but with a slight difference:  Others trained and asked to be part of the track meet; you believe, on the other hand, that you are the only one unprepared.  How did I get here?  Who entered me in this race?  Why am I the only one out of shape and unable to keep up?

Yet, for years, you have been in the “middle of the pack”, unnoticed; perhaps, every now and again, with great struggle and pain, a little ahead of the others; but now, lagging somewhat behind.  It is as if you were milling about as a spectator, and someone got on top of a ladder with a bullhorn and announced, “Okay, everyone listen up!  Everyone line up and when I lower this red flag, the race begins!”  And suddenly, off everyone went, and you along with everyone else, otherwise you would have been trampled to death.  And so you have entered the track meet unasked for.

That is often how Federal and USPS employees “feel” when they suddenly are beset with a medical condition unasked for, unexpected — but with an impact upon their capacity and ability to continue in the Federal or Postal position they presently occupy.  You are struggling.  You cannot keep up.  You will either drop out of the race with nothing to show for the efforts previously expended, or you will simply deteriorate slowly, steadily, progressively.

Contact an OPM Disability Lawyer who specializes in Federal Disability Retirement Law, and see whether or not you can — this time — exit the track meet unasked for, by preparing, formulating and filing for Federal Disability Retirement benefits through the U.S. Office of Personnel Management 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.

 

FERS Medical Retirement from OPM: Grasping at Straws

The etymology of the phrase comes either from Thomas More’s work, Dialogue of Comfort Against Tribulation (1534), or from a later work by Samuel Richardson — a novel entitled, Clarissa (1748).

The idiom itself is perhaps misinterpreted, as we think of “straws” as that plastic contraption (or, more recently, that environmentally-friendly one made of paper which begins to disintegrate the moment you take your first sip) created as a thin tube for soft drinks and the like.

“Straws”, in older times, however, refers to thin reeds which grow by the side of a river, and a man who is drowning may futilely grasps at such thin reeds in an attempt to save himself.  In today’s world, the idiom may imply an act or decision-making process, usually in a state of desperation, without sufficient knowledge or data, leading one to “grasp at straws” — entities which will not help you out of your state of desperation.

For Federal employees and U.S. Postal workers who suffer from a medical condition such that the medical condition no longer allows you to perform all of the essential elements of your job, there is often a sense of “grasping at straws” as you flail about trying to retain the shambles of your career.

Conversely, the idiom may also apply at some of the illogical reasonings given by the U.S. Office of Personnel Management in denying a Federal Disability Retirement case — of “grasping at straws” to find a basis for denying a FERS Medical Retirement case.

In either case, it is important to contact a disability attorney who specializes in OPM Disability Retirement Law, and begin the process of grabbing onto the substantive basis of a Federal Disability Retirement case, and not allow for the futility of grasping at any straws along a fictional river where desperation should be left to myths, fairytales and idioms of old proverbs.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill
Lawyer specializing exclusively in Federal Disability Retirement Law

 

Long-Term Disability Federal & Postal Employees: The Doors of Distractions

We have inadvertently invited the doors of distraction to not only open, but to continually remain open.  It is like the machine created by someone, and now we have forgotten how to switch the machine off, let alone recall where the switch is located.

Can any of us read a novel, or any book, anymore, without looking at our Smart Phone every few minutes?  Or, even if we remember to put our phone somewhere away from our immediate proximity with the view that such a foolish preventive measure will allow us to have enhanced focus and concentration, how often do we nevertheless pause and wonder, “Did I hear a notification of some sort”?

We appease the self-evident damage to the re-wiring of the brain by claiming that, “Oh, isn’t it wonderful how we can multi-task with such efficiency?” — when, in fact, it is merely a frenzy of distractions which continually limits and restricts our ability to remain focused upon any single endeavor, at the expense of being perpetually distracted without accomplishing a single thing.

The doors of distraction are now fully opened, and for Federal employees and U.S. Postal workers who suffer from a medical condition such that the medical condition itself is also another door of distraction, you should contact a FERS attorney who specializes in Federal Disability Retirement Law.

With the counsel and guidance of a Federal lawyer who specializes in Federal Disability Retirement Law exclusively, you may be able to retire medically and, at least, close that particular door of distraction.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Lawyer
Federal Disability Retirement Attorney

    

Federal & Postal Worker Disability Retirement: Consequences

They exist and occur, for every act we engage, for every decision we make.  Some, inconsequential; others, of some limited impact; still others, of greater reverberations; and of a limited few — of impact both felt and ones by which we must live with.  Regrets result from the greater consequences we believe we could have prevented, altered, precluded or changed; those are the ones which nag and trail, follow us in haunting residue of forever regrets.

What could have changed things?  How could I have done things differently?  Why didn’t I do something at the time?

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, consider the consequences — then consult with an experienced attorney who will be able to guide you throughout the process.

Contact an OPM Disability Lawyer who specializes in Federal Disability Retirement Law, lest the consequences of proceeding without specialized advice could result in regret and remorse.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill
OPM Disability Attorney

 

FERS Disability Retirement Benefits: Future Dreaded

We often avoid the subject; of futures yet to be contemplated and images triggered by fears; of questions pertaining to old age, retirements, early onset of dementia and the fearful “A” word — Alzheimer’s.

Are such fates certainties?  Or, do we just shrug them off with a flippant side-step, like the partner dancing with a clumsy other who is nimble enough to avoid being stepped on, making dancing with the stars seemingly like a cakewalk.  “We can always get hit by a truck tomorrow, so why worry about the day after?”  Is that a philosophy of life which can long endure, or a truism which guarantees our fated dread, anyway?

Medical conditions of any form and type remind us of the future dreaded; it points to our mortality, our vulnerabilities and our lack of security in this world where communities are non-existent, empathy remains in short supply and families break apart as easily as the crumbling crust upon an overcooked apple pie.

Future dreaded — it is a feeling felt at the pit of one’s stomach, and nightmares which shake one from the slumber of midnight terrors; and, in the end, we feel sorrow for ourselves in an echo of soliloquies where a singular voice calls for help and no one is there to listen.  The bleakest of ends does not need to be one where the worst fears are realized.

For Federal employees and U.S. Postal workers who suffer from a medical condition such that the medical condition necessitates consideration of filing for Federal Disability Retirement benefits through the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, the future dreaded is the one around the corner, triggered by the increasing hostility of an agency or the postal facility which sees no future in your contribution or membership in that community of workers which once provided a sense of security.

When your medical condition has come to a point where you can no longer perform all of the essential elements of your job, call a FERS Attorney who specializes in Federal Disability Retirement Law.  For, in the end, the future dreaded is often one based upon lack of understanding, and it is knowledge of the process of Federal Disability Retirement which can feed the information necessary to prepare for a future brightened, and not a future dreaded.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire

 

OWCP & FERS Disability Retirement for Federal and Postal Employees

Can both be approved concurrently?  Is there any disadvantage in filing for one “as opposed” to another?  Do they “cross over” and impact one another?  Can you receive payments concurrently, or must you choose one over the other and, if one is chosen, does it “negate” or otherwise dismiss the other?

These are all practical questions which can come about if an injury or illness results from a workplace incident or caused by an occupational hazard.  First and foremost, it should be noted that the two “pockets” of compensatory resources are different in nature: OWCP is not a retirement system; OPM Disability Retirement is. OWCP is a compensatory resource created and established as a temporary measure (although there are many, many cases where an OWCP recipient stays on and receives compensation for decades and beyond) — as a means of allowing the Federal worker to receive treatment, recuperation and rehabilitation, with a view towards an eventual return to work.

The paradigm of a FERS Federal Disability Retirement, on the other hand, is just that: It is a retirement system — essentially, starting your retirement “early” because of a medical condition or injury resulting in one’s loss of capacity to continue to perform one or more of the essential elements of one’s Federal or Postal job.  The latter (FERS Disability Retirement) does not have to possess any causal connection to the employment itself — in other words, the medical condition or injury does not have to be “occupationally related” in order for a Federal or Postal worker to become eligible for its benefits.

Remember, however, that under a FERS Disability Retirement, a Federal or Postal worker must file for the benefit of Federal Disability Retirement within one (1) year of being separated from one’s Federal Agency or the Postal Service.  The fact that a person has been “placed on the rolls of OWCP” does not excuse the 1-year rule for filing a Federal Disability Retirement application.

For further information on the intersection between OWCP and FERS Disability Retirement, you should consult with an experienced attorney who is knowledgeable about both, and make your decision upon factual and legal information, and not from such sources as, “I heard from Joe that…”

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire

 

OPM Medical Retirement for Federal Employees: Imperfect Lives

Bringing up the very concept itself implies that the opposite exists: That of “perfect” lives.  We perhaps attribute the existence of such; perhaps it is the same line of thought processes which persuades us by the Ontological argument for the existence of God: God is that than which nothing greater can be thought of; To exist is greater than not to exist; therefore, God must by necessity exist.  The corollary argument which persuades us of the existence of a “perfect” life would then be: The perfect life is a life which erases all imperfections; perfection is better than its opposite; therefore there must by necessity exist perfect lives.

Yet, does reality indicate the existence of perfect lives?  Certainly, its opposite is true: imperfect lives being all around us, including our own, we then assume that there must be other, similarly imperfect lives.  Yet, while perfection is a non-relative term (it cannot be dependent upon a comparison to other terms, but is the paragon of all things not imperfect), its antonym — imperfection — can be.  Thus, X’s life may be less perfect than Y’s, and Z’s life may be less perfect than Y’s but better than X’s.  Can we ever say that X’s life is “more perfect” than X’s or Y’s?  Doesn’t “more perfect” necessarily imply imperfection and thus cannot approach a definitional plateau of “more”?

The plain fact is that all of our lives are imperfect, and perfection is an unreachable goal, and perhaps even undefinable.  For, who can define perfection of a life which fails to ever meet such a standard, and given the sins of human frailty, can it ever be achieved?

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 position, the time may be ripe to admit and acknowledge that “perfection” is a standard which can never be met, and to try and maintain that appearance of perfection is an unrealistic goal.  Medical conditions have a way of humbling us; and as we keep struggling to maintain an appearance of perfection, what we are doing is failing to acknowledge that such a standard is a harmful, detrimental one.

Filing for Federal Disability Retirement benefits is an admission of our imperfection; consulting with an attorney who specializes in Federal Disability Retirement Law is a step towards acting upon that admission — that, try as we might, we live imperfect lives, and that’s okay; for, to err is human, and to file for FERS Disability Retirement benefits is to admit to being human.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire

 

FERS Disability Retirement: Life as a Series of Problems

There are television series; of “mini-series”; of a series of movie episodes once popularity of the first viewing has established the call for a following.

In television and theatrical drama, there has to be an opportunity for “character development” — of getting to “know” a person, of seeing him or her in various contexts in order to determine “who” a person is by what they do, how they react and the very essence of their belief-systems.  Rarely is a play, a story or a novel of any interest when it involves a person or multiple individuals sitting around expounding upon their beliefs or “principles” of life, and why is that?  Is it because a person who talks without being tested can offer nothing more than the sound of air?

The movie of life always presents us with a series of problems; that is what makes a good story, of course — of conflicts, their resolution; the way in which individuals are “tested”, and not merely by hypothetical presentations of analytical problem-solving gestures.

Medical conditions — whether later in life or occurring earlier— always present a challenge that tests a person in so many ways, precisely because medical issues hit at the core of everything about a person: How we see ourselves; what we are able to do; where we go and seek guidance and counsel; and all of the multitude of reverberating effects upon so many varied aspects of our lives.

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, filing a Federal Disability Retirement application under FERS is just one of life’s series of problems.

It is never a guarantee; it is never a “sure thing”; and as OPM appears to be denying more FERS Disability Retirement cases under this Administration than ever before, it is important to prepare and formulate a plan for a Federal Disability Retirement application and to recognize it as another slice of life’s problems in a series of such problems.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire