Legal Assistance to Federal employees & Postal workers seeking FERS Disability Retirement benefits. Call us at 1-800-990-7932 for a free evaluation of your case.
Not all cases that should be won, are won. No one can win 100% of the time; think about it — even the best Major League Baseball players strike out at least 2 out of every 3 at-bats. Most strike out every 3 out of 4 times. Fortunately, I am able to pass through a Read More …
It is an accepted fact that there is a “psychological” aspect to almost everything in life, and this is no less true in the field of disability retirement law. The “psychological” aspect is the nexus, or bridge, from the Reconsideration Stage to the Merit Systems Protection Board. From OPM’s viewpoint, this is the last chance Read More …
For whatever reason, a certain percentage of cases reach the third level in the process of applying for Federal Disability Retirement benefits: The Merit Systems Protection Board. If an individual is unrepresented at this level, the identical problem as that which occurs in any courtroom presents itself: an attorney representing an individual provides an appearance Read More …
In fighting to prove one’s eligibility for Federal Disability Retirement benefits, a recurring argument which the Office of Personnel Management often alleges is that an applicant failed to follow the treatment recommendations of the treating doctor. Such an argument can prove to be fatal to an applicant’s case, but it is good to know the Read More …
Whether we like to admit it or not, we all operate, in all segments of our lives, from a certain “paradigm” (reference Thomas Kuhn, Structures of Scientific Revolutions) or “world-view”. When it comes to Federal Disability Retirements, the majority of Federal and Postal workers who comes to me have a pre-formed, generally negative attitude about Read More …
The next step beyond the Merit Systems Protection Board, of course, is a choice: You can either file an immediate appeal to the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals, or file a Petition for Review before the Merit Systems Protection Board, where the decision of the Judge at the Merit Systems Protection Board will be reviewed Read More …
The third step in the process of filing and obtaining disability retirement from the Office of Personnel Management is to appeal the case to the Merit Systems Protection Board. This is initiated after a disability retirement application has been denied twice: First, at the initial stage, then, upon a request for reconsideration and an opportunity Read More …
Care at every step of the way in preparing an OPM disability retirement application is the key to winning. The metaphorical “dots” that need to be created and connected, will ensure that each aspect of a disability retirement claim is not seen as independent entities, but a part of a larger whole. When an individual Read More …
When putting on a disability retirement case under FERS or CSRS before the Merit Systems Protection Board, it is essential that an applicant (if unrepresented) and the attorney (if represented, the applicant need not participate in any Prehearing Conference, but will obviously encounter the Judge during the Telephone Hearing) listens to the Administrative Judge during Read More …
When an individual has attempted to obtain disability retirement under FERS or CSRS on his/her own, but has failed at both the initial stage as well as the Reconsideration Stage, while it is true that a Hearing before an Administrative Judge at the MSPB is to be heard de novo (meaning, heard “anew” and where Read More …