The Balance of Relevance during the Preparation and Filing of an OPM Disability Retirement Application

Extraneous information is somewhat determined by the eye of the beholder; outsiders tend to view things differently from those who hold greater and more intimate knowledge through interconnected and intersecting relationships; and implied understandings, furtive glances and knowing stares, coupled with a wan smile, are often indicative of an intramural web of knowledge.

Looking to move into a neighborhood, one may drive through an area and see the pristine cut of well-manicured lawns, but it says nothing about the inner workings of friendliness or neighborly misgivings.  What we consider as relevant information in order to make a proper decision, is determined by the goal which is sought, and the means which must be employed to direct that purposive end.

For Federal employees and Postal workers who suffer from a medical condition, such that the medical condition determines the necessity of filing for Fed OPM Disability Retirement benefits through the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, the need to compile the compendium of relevant information, while including factual context and peripheral issues, must be evaluated and analyzed from the perspective of the “other” — the administrative specialist who will be reviewing the Federal Disability Retirement application at the U.S. Office of Personnel Management.

In any form of writing, there must always be a striking of a proper balance between information which constitutes the essence and core of a compilation, and the necessary contextual background which provides the guiding light of a directed narrative.  But some information, far from being mere extraneous narration, can actually undermine one’s stated goal.

Just as letters of bygone days and emails in modernity should never be sent in a fit of anger, so the temperament of retribution should be controlled in preparing, formulating and filing for Federal Disability benefits through OPM, whether the Federal employee or the U.S. Postal Worker is under FERS, CSRS or CSRS Offset.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire

Postal and Federal Disability Retirement: Searching for the Proper Balance

Herbal tinctures have become popular in recent times, as primary reliance upon pharmacological solutions characterized by the paradigm of traditional medicine has resulted in explosions of naturopathic alternatives.  But the proper balance and admixture of alcohol with the substantive extracts from medicinal plants is important in arriving at an effective solution; too much alcohol will merely result in having a potion without efficacy; too little, and the bitter taste will invite gastrointestinal convulsions.

It is always the search for the proper balance for everything in life which one seeks, and preparing an effective Federal Disability Retirement application, filed with the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (routed via one’s agency personnel office if the Federal employee or Postal worker has not been separated for more than 31 days), and whether the Federal or Postal employee is under FERS or CSRS, is no different.

Whether it is the medical documentation attached — the extent of detail, the volume of records, the content of history and surgical procedures, how far back, etc. — or one’s Statement of Disability as narrated on SF 3112A, the roadmap which one provides to the U.S. Office of Personnel Management is important in presentation for ease of readership, clarity of direction, and convenience of content-viewing by the Legal Administrative Specialist who will be reviewing, analyzing and evaluating the proper balance of one’s Federal Disability Retirement application.

Then, of course, there is the problem of what happens if a Federal OPM Disability Retirement application is denied at the First Stage of the process; for, it becomes all the more crucial to rebut, reply and reinvigorate one’s OPM Disability Retirement application with all of the admixture of legal tinctures, somewhat like the witch doctor who tries different potions and knows which elements will result in a fiery brew of healthy, bittersweet taste of success.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire

 

Federal Employee Medical Retirement: The Chasm between Denials

From the perspective of an individual Applicant for Federal Disability Retirement benefits under FERS & CSRS, the individual applicant does not normally observe some other person’s Federal Disability Retirement application, and therefore never has the opportunity to see the “greater process” at work, or patterns of behavior on the part of the Office of Personnel Management.  Yet, there are indeed patterns, and that is why an experienced attorney who has seen literally thousands of Federal Disability Retirement cases over numerous years, has an advantage in responding to OPM’s denials.  Experience lends itself to greater observation.  Experience over time reveals certain patterns.  And patterns of behavior can reveal important principles. 

Certain OPM Representatives provide detailed and (often) irrelevant factual references which can be ignored; others like to “cite the law” and believe that such citations appear irrefutable and authoritative; and still others give scant discussion to laws or to facts.  Thus, there often appears to be a great chasm between the types of denials.  Whether or not there are such differences, an applicant who has received a denial for his or her Federal Disability Retirement case needs to respond to any such denial with a three-pronged attack:  Medical refutation; Factual correction; Legal assertion.  Such an attack will cover any chasm which might exist between the different individuals who send out a denial letter.  More importantly, it will cover the necessary elements for winning a Federal Disability Retirement case.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire

FERS Disability Retirement: Learning from Experience

The problems inherent in filing a Federal Disability Retirement application under FERS or CSRS are multi-fold and multi-tiered.  Even today, after years and years of practicing in this particular area of law, there is rarely a day which goes by that I haven’t learned something new — whether a slight wrinkle in OPM Disability Retirement law; whether in a nuance of a description of a particular medical condition; or in simply how a doctor has described a specific condition and its particular and unique impact upon a patient.  Experience comes from making mistakes; mistakes can be human, technical, or a combination of both.

Unfortunately, for the Federal or Postal worker who is filing, or contemplating filing, for Federal Disability Retirement benefits under FERS or CSRS, the process itself is essentially a “one-time” endeavor.  Yes, a person can theoretically file, then refile at a later time (side-stepping the issue of res judicata, which can, in most instances, be gotten around); but for the most part, a Federal or Postal employee who is filing for Federal Disability Retirement benefits is doing it once, and only once.

As such, it is NOT the time to obtain “experience” — i.e., there is little room for “learning” from “mistakes”.

There is “good experience” and “bad experience”, but both are experiences nonetheless.  In filing an application for Federal or USPS Disability Retirement benefits, however, it is the former which needs to be experienced, and not the latter, and in such a filing process, there is indeed a difference between the two.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire