FERS Disability Retirement Attorney Help: Chaos

Age is revealed by the things we relate to.  The word or supposed acronym KAOS — for those old enough — immediately evokes the old and original “Get Smart” series, of an equally inept spy ring (obviously Russian or Eastern European) as the nemesis of the American CIA, both paralleling in their bilateral ridiculousness, both engaging in child-like behavior originating from childhood fantasies of intrigue and secrecy.

But “chaos” itself is no laughing matter.  The thin line between sanity and chaos is a fragile one.  The Greek derivation of the word is borrowed from “abyss” — that emptiness that exists before the Biblical intervention of a Deus ex Machina, where the human abyss is suddenly intervened with a supernatural being who orders the world and resolves all conflicts.  But that such things happened in the “real world” we all must contend with.

In that real world, we all live in the artifice of appearances: Seemingly, there is a happy family, but suddenly, that middle class semblance of happiness is shaken when the spouse finds out that his “till death do us part” partner is having an affair with someone else; or the order of life is unravelling because of some addiction — to pornography, to gambling, to drinking, or to drugs; or, suddenly, a suicide occurs — of a spouse, a child, or other family member; or abuse is occurring, suddenly revealed; and so, chaos enters a life previously thought to be sane, ordered, and manicured beyond reproach.

Disabling injuries or diseases can do that, as well.  What was once “managed”, can suddenly wreak havoc over the life of a well-ordered individual.  That is when a medical condition, for a Federal employee or Postal worker, can become the line-crossing event which propels one into recognizing that there is a need to file for Federal Disability Retirement benefits through the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, under FERS.

Chaos is not so far from the ordered life we believe we possess.  When that recognition occurs, contact a FERS Disability Attorney who specializes in Federal Disability Retirement Law, and begin the process of preparing, formulating and filing an effective Federal Employee or Postal Disability Retirement application, in order to pull you back from the abyss of chaos, back to a time of sanity and ordered quietude.

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 Disability Retirement Benefits: Paintings Without Words

The cave paintings in Lascaux are apparently a stunning display of prehistoric art created by Paleolithic Man some 17000 years ago — well before Christ, before the Roman or Greek civilizations; before the written word.  The depictions are of animal figures and of man; but without words.

Of course, if you visit an art gallery, every painting is “without words” — except, perhaps, of the title given to the painting, like “The Boy in a Red Vest” or “The Starry Night”, or even, “Self-Portrait”, etc.  But these cave paintings lack even a title.  They are silent — truly in the sense of lacking noise, explanation, etc.

Various “experts” have apparently rendered their interpretations as to why they were drawn and what they depict; the “meaning” of the art.  Why did such men (why do we presume they were done by men, and not by women?) paint upon the walls of that cave?  What did they intend?

Such interpretations may or may not be true; one shall never know, because the context of the once-vibrant community has been lost.  They remain as paintings without words because the words were lost long ago, and so the meaning behind the depiction — what gave it “meaning” — has been lost forever.

It is similar to the feeling and sense that a Federal or Postal employee has when a 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 “meaning” behind the work is lost, because the functionality to perform the work has been separated from the ability to engage in that functionality.

Contact an OPM Attorney who specializes in Federal Disability Retirement Law and begin the process of recovering the meaning behind the work you once loved; for, like paintings without words, work without freedom from pain and turmoil results in a profound sense of loss.

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 for Federal Employees: Reverberations of Choices

At the time, it may have seemed inconsequential.  The choices we make — of whether to go to college or not; of delaying further education; of where to live, move to, set roots in; whether to get married, start a family, the size of the family; of choosing friends, a career, maintaining close or distant contact with siblings, relatives, parents and extended family; and throughout life, the reverberations of our choices may appear, individually, to have minimal-to-no impact upon our lives.

We know this not to be true.  The small ripple created from a thrown pebble in a pond may seem inconsequential; but to the frog waiting for the undisturbed quietude to allow for an unsuspecting insect, the meal missed is the felt reverberation of the water’s ripple.

For Federal employees and U.S. Postal workers who are contemplating filing for Federal Disability Retirement benefits under FERS with the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, the choice of advocacy may be an important component in making future plans.  What will your lawyer do for you?  Will he or she stay with you from start to finish throughout the stages of a Federal Disability Retirement process?

Contact an OPM Disability Attorney who specializes in Federal Disability Retirement Law and make sure that the reverberations of choices made will have a positive ripple-effect upon your future.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Lawyer

 

FERS Disability Retirement from the OPM: Careful Planning

Is there any other type?  Do we ever plan, but do it carelessly?  Or, is it a redundancy to ascribe any planning as being “careful”?  Another question, of course, is the manner in which we determine the basis of such planning; i.e., is it only a retrospective judgment that is made after the fact?  In other words, do we ascribe the designated title of “careful planning” only after things have gone smoothly, and that of “careless planning” when things have not?

When the boss pats you on the shoulder and says, “Good job” and you turn and smugly respond, “Well, it’s just a matter of careful planning,” is such a response appropriate only because things had turned well?  And when it does not, do you just say: “Well, despite careful planning, there were some unforeseen circumstances that arose and all we can do is to counter them as best we can”?

There is, of course, such an animal as “careless planning” — where one has engaged in the motions of planning a future course of events, but has not taken the time to think it through, plan alternative avenues for “handling a potential conflict”, or otherwise did not meticulously prepare for the upsides and downsides of potential difficulties.  And that is the key, isn’t it — to consider the options, take into account the possibilities, and to plan accordingly?

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, careful planning in the preparation, formulation and submission of an effective Federal Disability Retirement application is a “must”.

We all engage in retrospective confirmation of our actions, and the single telling factor of careful planning in a Federal Disability Retirement application is when you receive an “approval” from the U.S. Office of Personnel Management.  Of course, when dealing with a Federal bureaucracy, a denial does not necessarily mean that careful planning was not engaged in, but merely that further planning and careful consideration must be given in order to battle with, and prevail, against OPM.

Consult with an attorney who specializes in Federal Disability Retirement Law and begin to formulate the plans which will be most effective in obtaining your disability retirement benefits from OPM.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire

 

Legal Representation for OPM Disability Retirement: Later editions

Later editions are never as valuable as the First Edition, unless of course something additional has occurred, like the author’s inscription and signature, or a typeset error which is limited in number, or perhaps a reissuance but for a “limited number”, and sometimes as an “anniversary” reprinting, especially and again, if the author or progenitor has signed such a copy.

People follow upon such objects of value; for, as such artifices are mere human conventions, the behavior towards such creations reflect the conduct of man towards his fellow man.  Thus do we treat “later editions” with reduced fanfare; the old are replaced by the new every day, and “first editions” — of a new employee, a rising star and other more recent arrivals — are accorded greater degrees of “oohs” and “ahhhs”.

One might counter that “First Editions” should instead be identified, as a metaphor for human beings, as those who have remained for the longer period of time, and not accorded such status to newcomers; it is those who “come after” who are the second or third impressions, and should be acknowledged as “less valuable”, and not more.

For Federal employees and U.S. Postal workers who suffer from a medical condition, such that the medical condition prevents the Federal employee from performing one or more of the essential elements of one’s Federal or Postal job, it is often the case that your “value” to the Federal Agency or the Postal Facility seems to have diminished as Second editions and Third impressions come upon the scene.

Look at the beauty of First Edition books, for example — often with some wear, and maybe even a tear, but it is the worn state of condition that is often compensated for by the years of experience for which the deteriorated condition can be valued, yet does the “bookseller” treats the later editions as more “valuable” than the stated First Edition?

Medical conditions are likened to the worn look of a First Edition book, whether signed or not, in this society where it is the Second or Third Editions that are too often treated with greater respect.  If that is the case, then it is time to consider preparing, formulating and filing an effective Federal Disability Retirement application, to be filed with the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, whether the Federal or Postal employee is under FERS, CSRS or CSRS Offset.

Perhaps that dusty old First Edition will be better appreciated elsewhere, all the while receiving a Federal Disability Retirement annuity and growing in value.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire

 

Federal Disability Retirement: Landmines undetected

Landmines, or other similar devices left undetected, whether improvised to explode and damage, harm or otherwise maim and kill, are constructed and implanted precisely for the purpose of being hidden until it is too late — until, unaware and unconcerned, the unwary enters into the foray of the device and suffers from the resulting potency of mayhem.

Landmines undetected do exactly what they were intended for: to catch the target unaware, and to perpetrate the greatest extent of harm and destruction possible.  Undetected, they lay in wait in camouflaged veils of surreptitious decoys meant to project an aura of innocence and harmlessness, until it is too late.

Then, of course, there are those landmines which could have been detected, or should have been; where the unwary should have been easily apprised of the potential harm, but for whatever reason — apathy, ignorance, lessening of one’s resolve or suspicion, or whatever the excuse or reflective rationale — failed in the process and suffered the consequences.

The term itself — “a landmine” — is often used allegorically and metaphorically, to emphasize a point of danger, potential hazard or other undetected potentiality, whether concealed, veiled or ignored as irrelevant and insignificant.  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 landmines undetected in Federal Disability Retirement Law may become the very ones which lessen and diminish the chances for a First Stage success.

While most mistakes are correctible, the single greatest landmine that is left undetected, and which often results with the most dire of consequences, is the one that should have been known or otherwise thought of, but was left as a mere inkling ignored and unresolved.

Consulting with an experienced attorney who specializes in Federal Disability Retirement law is a good way to avoid those metaphorical landmines left undetected, and while the Federal or Postal employee who is filing for Federal Disability Retirement benefits may falsely believe that he or she is unable to afford an attorney to guide the Federal or Postal employee through the process, it is the very opposite thought that should be entertained — of failing to afford the prevention of a potential harm upon stepping on a landmine undetected — which should make one pause and reconsider.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire

 

FERS CSRS Disability Retirement from OPM: Fatal Flaws

Nature is harsher than the artifices created by man; egalitarianism or empathy for the less fortunate, are not found as traces of widespread encapsulation of the essence of the wild; instead, the opposite is true:  of indifference, abandonment in the face of a wounded comrade, and flight as opposed to commonality of surrender.  It is only in the antiseptic universe of human civilization that we discover character, trust and fortitude in the face of threat.

Is this a fatal flaw in the humanity of the species?  Perhaps.  Time will tell, as civilizations rise and fall, as to whether the inherent weakness of totalitarianism will succumb to the overt unsteadiness of democratic institutions, and whether kindness wins out over betrayal, truth over falsity, and cruelty above warmth of favor.  Malignancy is considered nature’s retribution against the unsettling forces of dominance and survival; but as history shows, the linear nature of our thought processes rarely reflects the reality of how man proceeds.  There are fatal flaws in every aspect of life’s misgivings; but most are merely defects correctible by substitution of lack with that of an addendum to afterthought.

In a Federal Disability Retirement application, there will be times when the U.S. Office of Personnel Management requests additional information because of an obvious lack; while a response does not necessarily guarantee an approval of one’s Federal Disability Retirement application, attending to the request will often appease the desire for more evidence.  If a Federal Disability Retirement application submitted to OPM has been denied at the Initial Stage of the process, are any errors or mistakes ever fatal flaws?  Rarely.  It depends.  Likely not.

Qualification: Undoing something is often more difficult than its opposite cousin in the affirmative; blinders cannot be placed upon OPM once they have reviewed something, and we cannot pretend that they haven’t already formed an “impression” of a case.  But corrections, supplemental information and addendum to deficiency; these are all the tools available for the Second Stage of the process — the Reconsideration Stage.

Then, of course, there is the avenue of the Third Stage, if such corrections have been unpersuasive or ineffective; and that would be an appeal to the U.S. Merits Systems Protection Board, where an Administrative Judge would decide the case.  There is even a “Fourth” Stage — a petition before the full board of the U.S. Merit Systems Protection Board.  Beyond that, an appeal to the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals is also available, though the systemic losses in all of the previous forums identified, makes for a near-impossibility to reverse course at that level unless there are onerous legal grounds to argue.

As we pointed out at the begin of this parade of verbosity, natural law is lock-step in tune with the marching harshness (to remain true to the metaphor of parades, marching, bands, etc.) reflected by genetic deficiencies manifested as fatal flaws; but in the bureaucratic universe of administrative processes such as filing for Federal Disability Retirement benefits, the safeguards allowing for a multitude of due process steps rarely follows the trumpets and trombones (there again, that metaphor overplayed) of nature’s unforgiving ways.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire

 

FERS & CSRS Disability Retirement Benefits: That oppressive air

There are circumstances in life when the environment becomes so intolerable, that one just has an inkling to “chuck it all” and walk away.  Fortunately, the human animal possesses a measure of self-discipline and restraint; although, looking at the excesses of the world around us, one would never know it.  If you watch and read the news, one would logically conclude that the world around us is falling apart and disintegrating at the seams.  If you hermetically seal one’s life and shut down all communication devices, happiness may well abound in the bliss of ignorance, but you will be deemed to be either mad or uncouth.  That is, in fact, what the ad agencies wanted us to believe, wasn’t it?

The term of modernity has been “connectivity”; everywhere you go, it is essential to life’s essence to remain in communication through various electronic devices and systems; portable “hot spots” had to be maintained, and even roadside motels got into the swing of things by posting neon signs which first touted a low price for an internet connection; then, later, when the foundational economic principles of supply and demand forced a steep decline in pricing wars, a mere announcement that free WiFi was available replaced the spectacle of flashing signs touting those strange numbers, such as “$19.95” or “$9.99”, as if we were ordering a family meal at Denny’s as opposed to maintaining that vaunted “connectivity” (what an ugly word!) for our various electronic devices.

If I had been paid a dollar for every device and newfangled invention that delivered the advertised promise of allowing me greater “freedom” and “saving more time” in order to do those things which one never has time to do, we would all have retired to gated communities in wealth, luxury and comfort.  Instead, it seems that technology, the constant barrage of information and the heightened level of stress seems to compound the problem; and with a collective sigh, one may ascribe the generic term of that “oppressive air” to describe the state of malaise in which we find ourselves.

Such generalized pressures of life are further exacerbated for the Federal employee or U.S. Postal worker who must contend with the added difficulties of a medical condition, such that the medical condition prevents the Federal or Postal worker from performing one or more of the essential elements of the Federal or Postal positional duties.  Fortunately, for the Federal or Postal employee, whether under FERS, CSRS or CSRS Offset, there is a Federal benefit to be applied for — Federal Disability Retirement benefits.

The process itself can be described as onerous and a maze of bureaucratic complexities, confounded by administrative ineptitude of an unquantifiable degree; but in comparison to that oppressive air which the Federal or Postal employee must endure at the hands of an increasingly hostile Federal agency or U.S. Postal Service — one that never seems to tolerate the disabled, infirm or otherwise “unfit for duty” — filing for Federal Disability Retirement benefits through the U.S. Office of Personnel Management is often the preferred option, especially if connectivity to some semblance of future financial security remains an important component of life’s growing anomalies.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire

 

Federal Disability Retirement: The traveling troubadour and trobairitz

There are vocations and careers which once were, and now forgotten.  Life cycles in endless streams of dying embers and regeneration of growth; and like the mythical Phoenix which arises from the ashes of destruction, so we tend to romanticize that which once was, is now forever lost in the forgotten residues of concealed fingerprints in timeless memories once secluded but dissipated as storytellers no longer found an audience for tales left untold, and children turned to self-amusement with videos, technological blank stares, and smartphones which glow well into the night.

Troubadours of the middle ages (and for those wondering, since this is now a gender-neutral universe and we dare not fail to include the binary aspect of such identification, the female counterpart known as the “trobairitz”), traveling under the patronage of princes in fiefdoms who showed the first signs of supporting “the arts”, and thus would allow for actors, performers and lyric poets to entertain and provide a respite of asides from a world which knew poverty beyond modernity’s capacity to comprehend, plagues which spread quickly and with devastating tenacity, and amongst rogues who cared not for the intellectual conscience recorded by scribes and religious orthodoxy of the Aquinas tradition.

They came onto the scene of history, and disappeared by the end of the High Middle Ages.  Do we even think about them, today — their careers, their imprint upon a fellow human being’s life, and even of the shadow which appeared but for a whispering moment, and with the light of day left not even a hint of prior existence?  Is that what Heidegger meant, when he described human existence as an avoidance out of fear of the ultimate fate of each man?  And so we look upon our own careers, and the choices we have made in life, and that to which we look into the crystal ball for the future.

Federal employees and U.S. Postal workers who are contemplating filing for Federal Disability Retirement benefits through the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, whether the Federal or Postal employee is under FERS, CSRS or CSRS Offset, must by necessity feel trepidation for the unknown.  That is natural.  But as necessity is the mother of invention, so the end of a Federal or Postal career should never bring pause to a hopeful perspective for a future yet undetermined, whether unknown or barely discernible.  And like the traveling troubadour and trobairitz of a past age, the career itself is but a whisper in time, and it is the substance of the life lived, and not the sacraments of a vocation we had chosen, which make for value in a life of plenty.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire

 

OPM Medical Retirement: Artistic precision and the caravan of words

The two words in the initial linguistic compound are rarely combined; for, as the former denotes a free-wheeling flow of undisciplined handiwork, it resists against the latter for its constraining methodology of instrumental pragmatism.  Thus, an “artist” by definition belies the very definition of precision, and “precision” connotes too rational an approach within the contextual themes of scientism and material fortitude.

Are they oxymorons?  Not quite.  Inconsistent in an aggregation of conceptual constructs?  Perhaps, to a degree of some incommensurability.  Nevertheless, as even opposites can still attract, and manage to discover ways to synchronize, so the free-flowing phenomenology of creativity inferred by an artistic hand, can with the guiding principles of methodological precision, garner a coordination of approaching beauty by analogy and pastoral effect by metaphor.

With that, we approach the latter half of the title — of a “caravan of words“.  Some would picture in the mind’s eye of a distant past, where antiquity and modernity clash in a final battle of lost yearnings; of a line of camels against the sunset of a desert’s sky, when languages uttered were foreign and exciting in their romantic interludes.  Nowadays, in a world gone mad, no one cares a twit about such scenes except to fear the violence and mayhem which is represented by a technological world having replaced the transport of goods by beasts of burdens.

It is, however, the addendum of “words”, attached to the concept of a caravan, which qualifies for significance and meaning.  For, by conveyance through a manner lost now in the fading antiquity of time, memories and forgotten worlds, we once communicated through a caravan of words, but now simply rush upon a computer key or a smartphone app.

We thus come to the ending chorus, the finale, the drumbeat of closure:  True communication can only occur through a series of burdensome approaches in transporting language into an effective word picture, utilizing both the imagination of artistry and the deliberations of scientific precision.

This should be kept in mind when a Federal or Postal employee who is preparing the Statement of Disability on SF 3112A, that the narrative to be told in response to questions asked, should encompass all of the elements discussed:  unrestrained by the questions themselves, yet precise in formulating the argument; conveyed not by mere convenience of transport, but carefully packed upon the backs of reliable caravans.

Words mean something, and when the Federal employee or U.S. Postal worker sits down to prepare an effective Statement of Disability on Standard Form 3112A in order to formulate a Federal Disability Retirement application, whether the Federal or Postal employee is under FERS, CSRS or CSRS Offset, it is important to engage in the artistic precision of a caravan of words, lest the means for conveyance of one’s narrative be delayed by an obstacle of technological obfuscation.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire