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Tag Archives: Application, Appeals, and Other Medical Documentation Submitted To the OPM

CSRS & FERS Disability Retirement: The Process

Posted on March 15, 2009 by Federal Disability Lawyer
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The importance of the “process” cannot be overstated in the filing of Federal Disability Retirement benefits.  It is the “coordination” of all of the various elements involved:  the Medical Narrative Report; the proper legal citations to refer to; the relevance of which medical documents to use; streamlining the documentation; the orderly listing of the medical conditions; how the medical conditions should be described; the narrative description of the impact and nexus between the medical condition and the job description; how to deal with accommodation issues; how to preemptively minimize any adverse impact from an “unfriendly” Supervisor’s Statement; preparing for the “long haul” — the potential denial, the denial at the Reconsideration Stage, and onward to the Merit Systems Protection Board — thus, preparing the case not only for the First Stage, but for any future stages of the process; how to deal properly and intelligently with specific medical conditions which may require a different “tweaking” of the application (i.e., medical conditions such as Fibromyalgia, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Bipolar Disorder, panic attacks, Multiple Chemical Sensitivity cases, etc.); the “do’s and don’t’s” of describing certain medical conditions.  These are only some of the issues which must be dealt with, coordinated, and thoughtfully constructed in preparing for a Federal Disability Retirement case.  

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire

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Posted in OPM Disability Application and/or Process | Tagged anxiety & panic attack in the Postal Service, appeal to the Merit Systems Protection Board, Application, Appeals, and Other Medical Documentation Submitted To the OPM, Bipolar Disorder in the Postal Service, case law citation in federal disabilities cases, Chronic Fatigue in federal jobs, different medical conditions in federal disability retirement, federal employee disability, federal employee retirement disability, federal workers with panic attacks, Fibromyalgia in OPM disabiity retirement, ill postal worker, injured postal worker, legal accommodation for Postal workers, medical condition, medical narrative report for federal disability, MSPB Reconsideration Stage, Multiple Chemical Sensitivity (MCS), nexus between medical condition and essential elements, OPM First Stage Disability Application, OPM Reconsideration Stage, SF 3112B Supervisor’s Statement, the approval/disapproval process, USPS disability claims, USPS Workers Comp | Leave a reply

CSRS & FERS Disability Retirement Cases: Presenting the Case to OPM

Posted on December 8, 2008 by Federal Disability Lawyer
1

Fortunately, most of my cases which are submitted before the Office of Personnel Management at the Initial Stage are approved. It is important to step back and understand, first and foremost, how the approval/disapproval process works. Remember that the submission to the Office of Personnel Management is a “paper submission”, and as with any bureaucratic presentation, it is important to make sure that it is neat, understandable, and “presentable.” You want to make your particular submission stand out from the thousands which are submitted. Neatness and streamling accounts for much. Merely gathering up a thousand pages of medical documentation and hoping that the sheer volume and weight of the medical records will be proportionate to the seriousness which the OPM representative will view your case, is a foolhardy approach.

I attempt to streamline the case for the OPM representative, by annotating, identifying the medical documentation, explaining the relevance of the documentation, and identifying both statutory and case-law citations which are relevant in supporting the fundamental basis for the disability retirement application. It is important to make a proper presentation. It makes the life of the OPM Representative that much easier, and if the OPM Representative can review the application, read the synopsis, clearly understand the relevance of the medical documentation, be able to analyze the applicant’s statement and do it almost effortlessly, then one is more often than not rewarded with an approval, rather than the dreaded “denial letter”.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire

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Posted in OPM Disability Application and/or Process, The Job of a Federal Disability Attorney, U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) | Tagged applicant's statement of disability, Application, Appeals, and Other Medical Documentation Submitted To the OPM, argument by analogy, case law citation in federal disabilities cases, disability federal workers, federal disability retirement opm, federal medical retirement, FERS Disability, FERS Disability Retirement Attorney, FERS Disability Retirement Lawyer, Initial Stage of the OPM disability process, medical evidence, medical reports in the OPM disability retirement applic, OPM disability application tips, OPM Representative, Post Office disability, postal workers injury attorney, statutory requirements in OPM disability law, the approval/disapproval process, the dreaded denial letter | 1 Reply

Federal Disability Retirement: SSA Approval, Part II

Posted on July 27, 2008 by Federal Disability Lawyer
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In order for an SSA approval to have an impact upon a Federal disability retirement application, the Social Security Administration’s decision letter granting benefits must provide a detailed explanation as to the basis for the approval, delineating the medical basis, the medical conditions upon which the decision was made, etc.  Thereafter, the applicant can submit the decision letter, but this is where it is important to have an attorney provide the proper legal & foundational argument — to provide the contextual applicability.

The legal basis, to start with, is found in Trevan v. Office of Personnel Management, 69 F.3d 520, 526-27 (Fed. Cir. 1995), in which the Federal Circuit Court found that in making a determination of eligibility for disability retirement, the Board (and thus, by analogy, OPM) must consider an award of SSA disability benefits together with medical evidence provided by the appellant to OPM, and other evidence of disability.  This is when an attorney’s tools of “argument by analogy” and pointing out the significant contextual language in an SSA decision letter comes in handy.  Next:  What if an SSA decision letter is not immediately forthcoming, or does not address the same medical conditions as that applied for in one’s disability retirement application?

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire

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Posted in Application, Appeals, and Other Medical Documentation Submitted To the OPM, Federal Disability Judge-Made Decisions Quoted, Important Cases, Legal Updates and/or the Current Process Waiting Time, OPM Disability & SSA Social Security Disability Benefits | Tagged additional evidence to sustain your fers disability claim, Application, Appeals, and Other Medical Documentation Submitted To the OPM, argument by analogy, attorney for US government employees, being careful with the medical documentation you submit to opm, case law citation in federal disabilities cases, civil service disability, civil service disability retirement, CSRS disability lawyer, disability retirement fers, disability retirement for federal employees, disability retirement laws under FERS & CSRS, documents you should not always submit to the opm, emphasizing quality in submitting opm medical records, federal disability law, federal employee turning over medical evidence to the opm, federal workers disability, FERS disability attorney, FERS disability lawyer, law firm for federal disability retirement, medical condition, medical evidence, medical evidence submitted to the opm for disability purposes, nationwide representation of federal employees, nexus between medical disability and job performance, OPM disability application tips, opm disability law firm, OPM disability lawyer, opm medical documents, opm supportive medical documentation, OPM's methodology, postal workers owcp rights attorney, pragmatic methodology, precedent and analogy in opm law legal reasoning, Social Security and OPM disability relationship, statutory requirements in OPM disability law, supporting substantial medical evidence to OPM, the applicant's methodology, the attorney's methodology, the opm must consider a ssa's decision if submitted, Trevan v. Office of Personnel Management, usps medical retirement, when to use a SSA disability decision, wyoming opm federal disability retirement | Leave a reply

Federal disability retirement: Getting the Bruner Presumption

Posted on May 16, 2008 by Federal Disability Lawyer
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If an individual is successful in persuading the Agency to remove him or her for his/her medical inability to perform the job, then the entitlement to what is coined as the “Bruner Presumption” is obtained. This is a great advantage, but one which is often misunderstood.

Remember that, under Bruner v. Office of Personnel Management, 996 F.2d 290 (Fed. Cir. 1993), when an individual is accorded the Bruner Presumption because of being removed for one’s medical inability to perform one’s job, this merely means that the “burden of production” shifts to the Office of Personnel Management, who must disprove your entitlement to disability retirement. However, the initial burden of proving by a preponderance of the evidence must still be met: i.e., one must still submit sufficient medical evidence to show that one was or is unable to perform the essential elements of one’s job.

This point should be obvious: for the Agency itself would never have separated an individual unless there was medical evidence to show that the individual could no longer perform the job. Thus, the very medical evidence which supported and justified the Agency’s action, is the same medical evidence which can be used to meet the initial burden of proof with OPM. The key is that, after this burden is met, then OPM has the harder burden of disproving that which the applicant has met. This is the great advantage of the Bruner Presumption.

Sincerely,
Robert R. McGill, Esquire

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Posted in Burden of Proof, Clarifications of Laws or Rules, Federal Disability Judge-Made Decisions Quoted, Important Cases, Legal Updates and/or the Current Process Waiting Time, The Applicant | Tagged Application, Appeals, and Other Medical Documentation Submitted To the OPM, applying for federal disability, attaining an amicable separation, Bruner Presumption, Burden of Production, Burden of Proof, document preparation and opm disability law, essential elements of jobs, federal court decisions in OPM disability cases, federal disability attorney, federal disability retirement attorney, federal disability retirement lawyer, in bruner the applicant must still submit sufficient evidence, limited burden of proof shift over to OPM, more than enough medical documentation, opm case-law decisions, Postal disability, Postal disability retirement, preponderance of the evidence documents, separated because of the employee's inability to work, separated from service, the Bruner Presumption and the burden of proof, usps separation | Leave a reply

FERS & CSRS Disability Retirement: Pragmatic Considerations

Posted on April 15, 2008 by Federal Disability Lawyer
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Often, pragmatic judgments and decisions must be considered at different stages of a disability retirement application. For instance, whether to submit all of the medical documentation in your possession is a discretionary judgment which needs to be considered. One might wonder why an applicant may withhold some or part of the medical documentation, and the answer is quite simple: if the Office of Personnel Management requests additional medical documentation, or it is rejected at the Initial Stage and further medical documentation needs to be submitted — if the applicant does not have additional medical documentation to submit, then there is very little incentive or basis for OPM to “reconsider” their position of denial.

Now, one might wonder, If the “additional” medical documentation had been submitted in the first place, perhaps OPM would never had requested more documentation, or perhaps they would have approved it to begin with. Not necessarily so. If you have already provided sufficient medical documentation to prove by a preponderance of the evidence your case, sometimes reserving that “extra” set of office or treatment notes is a wise decision. It may be the difference between being able to respond to OPM’s request for additional medical documentation, and not being able to — and the difference between an approval or a denial, and a basis for OPM to “reconsider” their position.

Sincerely,

Robert R. McGill, Esquire

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Posted in Application, Appeals, and Other Medical Documentation Submitted To the OPM | Tagged Application, Appeals, and Other Medical Documentation Submitted To the OPM, civil service disability, each opm disability stage requires a different approach, federal government disability, federal medical retirement, filing for OPM disability retirement, making a pragmatic consideration on disability issues, medical reports in the OPM disability retirement applic, OPM disability application tips and strategies, OPM disability retirement, OPM First Stage Disability Application, OPM Initial Stage in federal disability, planning your opm disability strategy from the beginning, Post Office disability, pragmatic methodology, preponderance of the evidence documents, saving some medical docs for later in opm disability, tips for us government employees on disability retirement, USPS Disability, when the opm request additional medical documentation | Leave a reply

Physician’s Statement, SF 3112C, for FERS & CSRS Disability Retirement

Posted on March 20, 2008 by Federal Disability Lawyer
2

Instead of signing the SF 3112C (Physician’s Statement), in representing my clients to obtain disability retirement, I write a 4 – 5 page letter directly to the client’s treating physicians to obtain a current medical report. Generally speaking, I advise my clients not to sign the SF 3112C, because it is essentially a general release of medical information which releases any and all medical records to the Agency’s Human Resources designee.

There is no reason to release all of your medical information — especially such information which is private, which is irrelevant to the medical disabilities which are specifically described and identified as the basis of your disability retirement application in your applicant’s statement of disability, and which do not impact your ability or inability to perform you job. Indeed, while the Agency will often insist upon the signature of the 3112C as being “required”, this is simply not true: Look at SF 3112E(8)(d) (Disability Retirement Application Checklist), which states: “SF 3112C, Physician’s Statement (or equivalent).” This shows that signature of the SF 3112C is not required — if you go out and obtain the medical records and reports yourself, and file the supporting medical documentation, then such documentation constitutes its “equivalent”.

It is my job, in representing a client to obtain disability retirement benefits, to prove by a preponderance of the evidence that my client is entitled to disability retirement benefits. It is not my job to release and and all private medical documentation to the Office of Personnel Management — only such documentation as will prove my case. As such, it is important to know what is required, and what is not.

Sincerely, Robert R. McGill, Attorney specializing in disability retirement cases for Federal and Postal employees

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Posted in Application, Appeals, and Other Medical Documentation Submitted To the OPM, SF 3112C Physician's Statement for CSRS and FERS, The Job of a Federal Disability Attorney | Tagged Application, Appeals, and Other Medical Documentation Submitted To the OPM, avoiding a release of medical information to opm, CSRS disability retirement SF3112-1, department of treasury employees disability retirement, federal disability retirement, fers disability and release of all your medical reports, FERS Disability Retirement Attorney, fers disability retirement for oklahoma federal employees, FERS disability retirement SF3112-2, inability to perform core functions of a us government job, inability to perform one's job, medical documentation guidelines, medical report from treating physicians for fers disability claim, medical reports in the OPM disability retirement applic, OPM disability application tips and strategies, OPM Disability Retirement, physician's statements in an OPM disability case, Postal disability, Postal Service disability, preponderance of the evidence documents, regulatory requirements of a fers disability medical report, relevance over quantity on disability medical documentation, SF 3112C Physician's Statement, SF 3112E(8)(d) Disability Retirement Application Check, SF 3112E(8)(d) Disability Retirement Application Checklist, USPS disability retirement | 2 Replies

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  • SF 3112 Disability Retirement Application Package
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  • SF 3112B Supervisor’s Statement for CSRS and FERS
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  • Some Preliminary Considerations
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