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    • Accommodation and Light Duty (40)
    • Advantages of Federal Disability Retirement (27)
    • Agency’s and/or Supervisor’s Actions (44)
    • Application, Appeals, and Other Medical Documentation Submitted To the OPM (44)
    • Burden of Proof (30)
    • Clarifications of Laws or Rules (161)
    • CSRS Disability (1)
    • Eligibility Criteria (18)
    • Evaluation Of Your OPM Disability Claim – How Do I Know If I Have A Strong Case? (18)
    • Fables, Stories and Analogies about CSRS and FERS Medical Retirement Benefits (78)
    • Federal Disability Judge-Made Decisions Quoted (35)
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    • Important Cases, Legal Updates and/or the Current Process Waiting Time (49)
    • Life after Federal Disability Retirement (21)
    • LWOP and Sick Leave in OPM Disability (12)
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Medical Retirement for Federal Workers: Inconsistencies and the Perfect Case

Posted on May 2, 2012 by Federal Disability Retirement Attorney

Perhaps there will never be the “perfect” case in a FERS Disability Retirement application, and one should not expect to find one.  There are “near-perfections” and ones which cannot possibly be denied by the U.S. Office of Personnel Management.  But it is the imperfect ones — the ones which might be consider tenuous at best, but which are nevertheless approved, which provide greater lessons in preparing, formulating and filing for Federal Disability Retirement benefits from the U.S. Office of Personnel Management.

Further, denial letters issued by the U.S. Office of Personnel Management are instructive for future events and cases, precisely because they indicate the focus, in any particular context or time, of the central and essential concerns expressed by OPM.  Inconsistencies are often what is reviewed and scrutinized most closely — between what the doctor asserts in conclusory fashion, in a medical narrative report, as opposed to the daily office and treatment notes; between one’s statement of disability and what the Supervisor observes; between what the applicant for Federal Disability Retirement benefits states, and what the doctor annotates.

Granted, much of it is selectively chosen with a biased and slanted perspective — as if the Caseworker at OPM had already decided to issue a denial.  Further, OPM makes unfounded assertions concerning the applicable standard of law all the time, which undermines the very basis of any denial, and puts into question the credibility of the reasons given in a denial letter.

Ultimately, there is no such thing as the “perfect” case; as life provides for inconsistencies and lack of continuum, so a Federal Disability Retirement application often reflects the imperfection of life.  Unfortunately, OPM doesn’t have such a philosophical outlook on such matters, and we must deal with it accordingly.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire

Filed under: OPM Disability Actors - The OPM Representatives | Tagged: accepting opm disability clients all across america, addressing the reason for OPM denial, attorney with experience evaluating many submitted opm disability retirement applications, avoiding inconsistencies during the preparation of your fers disability claim, civil service disability retirement, consistency in all the parts of the OPM application package, CSRS disability retirement federal attorney, deficiencies of an OPM disability denial, don't expect a perfect review of your disability retirement case under fers, evaluating your federal disability claim for inconsistencies, examining opm's rationality to deny your fers disability benefits, experience and results for federal employee disability claims, Federal Disability, federal disability retirement, federal employee disability, FERS disability retirement, formulating an almost perfect federal disability application, inconsistencies between my doctors in my federal disability claim, natural inconsistencies in your csrs disability claim, OPM disability retirement, opm's excuses to deny your federal disability retirement, owcp disability retirement, Postal disability, Postal disability retirement, pursuing a ''perfect'' fers disability retirement application (as if it could be done), reasons why the opm can deny disability application, submitting a coherent and consistent opm disability application, the experience of a federal disability retirement attorney, the experience of submitting many fers disability applications that were approved, truth and consistency across the opm disability retirement forms and statements, USPS disability retirement, what the opm does when it tries to deny fers or csrs disability applications? | Leave a comment »

  • More on CSRS & FERS Disability Retirement

    • eZineArticles.com Article: The 1 Year Statute of Limitations
    • Federal Disability Retirement Laws, Medical Conditions, and the Intersecting Complications with OWCP, Social Security and FERS & CSRS
    • Federal Disability Retirement: The Full Arsenal of Weapons
    • FedSmith.com Article: Revisiting "Accommodation"
    • FedSmith.com Article: Sometimes the Process is just as important as the Substance of an Argument
    • Latest PostalReporter.com Article: Causation in a Federal Disability Retirement Case
    • Understanding the Complexities of the Law
    • USPS Disability Blog: The National Reassessment Program, the Agency and the Worker
  • Other Resources for Federal and Postal Employees

    • Articles Published in the Postal Reporter
    • FAQs on OPM Disability Retirement
    • FERS Disability Attorney Profile at Lawyers.com
    • Main Website on Federal Disability Retirement
    • OPM Disability Blog
    • The Postal Service Disability Retirement Blog
  • Seven False Myths about OPM Disability Retirement

    1) I have to be totally disabled to get Postal or Federal disability retirement.
    False: You are eligible for disability retirement so long as you are unable to perform one or more of the essential elements of your job.  Thus, it is a much lower standard of disability. 

    2) My injury or illness has to be job-related.
    False: You can get disability even if your condition is not work related.  If your medical condition impacts your ability to perform any of the core elements of your job, you are eligible, regardless of how or where your condition occurred.

    3) I have to quit my federal job first to get disability.
    False: In most cases, you can apply while continuing to work at your present job, to the extent you are able.  

    4) I can't get disability if I suffer from a mental or nervous condition.
    False: If your condition affects your job performance, you can still qualify. Psychiatric conditions are treated no differently from physical conditions.

    5) Disability retirement is approved by DOL Workers Comp.
    False: It's the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) the federal agency that administers and approves disability for employees at the US Postal Service or other federal agencies.

    6) I can wait for OPM disability retirement for many years after separation.
    False: You only have one year from the date of separation from service - otherwise, you lose your right forever.

    7) If I get disability retirement, I won't be able to apply for Scheduled Award (SA).
    False: You can get a Scheduled Award under the rules of OWCP even after you get approved for OPM disability retirement.
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