By Federal Disability Attorney Robert R. McGill
Change is an inevitable feature of life. It is always difficult to accept the vicissitudes which interrupt the security found in the daily routine of work, family and social events, if only to get together with neighbors or sometime-acquaintances for an evening to forget the daily toils of living. The embracing of a lifetime of toil – of daily getting up at a specified time; of performing the routine of self-grooming; of encountering the outside world in order to provide security for the present and investing for tomorrow; to contribute to one’s Thrift Savings Plan (if the Federal or Postal employee is under the Federal Employees Retirement System); all of these efforts, and more, constitute a lifetime of performing one’s duty, fulfilling one’s obligation, and making a significant impact for the sake of self, family, and society.
When a medical condition mandates change, the thought of altering the daily routine of life becomes exponentially difficult, precisely because such shifting of goals was not a voluntary act, but one imposed from somewhere else. Often, for the Federal employee or the U.S. Postal worker who begins to suffer from a progressively deteriorating medical condition, thoughts of impending future doom, loss of income, reverberating impact upon family, social status and financial and economic instability, becomes overwhelming. It is bad enough that one must deal with the medical condition itself; when concerns beyond the core of one’s health begin to overtake and predominate, it is often a good idea to seek the advice of someone who specializes in a particular field.
Federal Disability Retirement law is not state-specific. In fact, the majority of lawyers in the country have no clue that such a field of administrative law even exists. Because it is a Federal issue, and not a “state-specific” issue, an attorney who has specialized expertise in the field of Federal Disability Retirement law can represent Federal and Postal employees from all across the United States. All of the administrative issues can be handled through the use of modern technology – from Express Mail, FedEx or UPS overnight mail; to email, fax, phones and PDF/Word/other attachments, etc. In fact, during the process of trying to obtain Federal Disability Retirement benefits, if a case has to be appealed to the U.S. Merit Systems Protection Board, the Hearing itself is normally conducted via a telephone hearing, so that no inconvenience of travel is imparted to anyone involved. Furthermore, because it is a Federal issue which involves administrative and bureaucratic complexities which require some specialization, it is advisable to obtain the services of an attorney who exclusively handles Federal Disability Retirement claims.