Whether an attorney is necessary at the initial stages of filing for OPM Disability Retirement is a question which each individual must answer. One thing is clear, however; there are very few cases where a disability retirement application is “clear-cut” based upon the medical evidence. The reviewing personnel at the Office of Personnel Management are not doctors — though they have a “contract doctor” to review applications. It is the job of an attorney to be the advocate for the client; as such, the tools which the attorney utilize are: words, and the power of words. In taking over cases at the Reconsideration Stage, or the Merit Systems Protection Board, the mistakes that I see which clients have made prior to representation always involve ‘words’ — either too much, or too few, or stated in the wrong way, or not at all. Verbosity is rarely an asset or advantage; being succinct is almost always the better way; wise choice of words is a must; the order of delineating the medical disabilities, creating the nexus between the medical disability and the inability to perform one’s job — all of those must be stated forthrightly, descriptively, and with a touch of creativity.
Sincerely,
Robert R. McGill, Esquire
Filed under: OPM Disability Application - SF 3112A Applicant's Statement of Disability for CSRS and FERS, The Job of a Federal Disability Attorney | Tagged: appeal to the Merit Systems Protection Board, CSRS disability attorney, CSRS disability lawyer, do I really need a lawyer?, federal disability attorney, federal disability lawyer, FERS disability attorney, FERS disability lawyer, I need help with my postal disability claim, legal & foundational argument, legal arguments in the federal disability application, Merit Systems Protection Board, MSPB disability attorney, MSPB disability lawyer, MSPB Reconsideration Stage, MSPB Third Stage, Nexus between Medical Condition and Essential Elements, nexus between medical disability and job performance, OPM disability appeal to the MSPB, OPM disability attorney, OPM disability lawyer, OPM doctors, OPM physicians, OPM Reconsideration Stage, opm rep, persuading an opm representative to rule in your favor, Postal Service employee advocate, Second Step OPM Appeal, when the applicant needs legal counseling, when the opm representative reviews your disability application | Leave a comment »