Filing A Private Disability Claim
If you have a private disability policy and become disabled, it is best to seek the advice of an experienced disability attorney to see you through the claims process. That’s because the disability claims process can be complicated. And when you have an attorney representing you, he or she can help you fill out the necessary disability forms, submit your medical records and your vocational and prescription drug information with detailed explanations, and go with you to medical exams and field interviews – both can be intimidating.
All too often, when people submit disability claims on their own, they incorrectly believe that the insurance company is “on their side.” Nothing could be further from the truth. Insurance companies are in business to make money for their shareholders, and not to pay out legitimate claims to their customers. Therefore, you will need an experienced disability attorney on your side to fight the carrier on your behalf.
You also will need an experienced disability attorney on your side to make sure you don’t leave out any important information or persuasive arguments in favor of your disability claim. Your attorney should know the process inside and out, be aware of all the deadlines (that can mean the difference between getting your benefits and not getting them), and most important, your attorney will know disability law.
FERS Disability Reconsideration
If you are a federal employee who has been denied your FERS disability, the next step in the process is to file for reconsideration. However, as we have said many times before, handling your own FERS disability reconsideration can be difficult.
Beware Of Tight Deadlines . . .
Once your original disability application has been denied, you only have 30 days from the time of that denial to appeal for reconsideration. Your appeal must go to the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB), where you can have them review the claim with no additional medical documentation. You also can have them review your disability claim with new medical documentation, or you can request an extension. But, if you ask for the MSPB to review new medical documentation, you are responsible for having your treating doctors submit the information. And, if you ask for an extension, remember, that extension will begin on the day that you request it.
Timing is everything. A missed deadline may result in your appeal being denied – regardless of the strength of your claim. Rather than going it alone and having to oversee the entire process, it is advisable to consult with a knowledgeable FERS disability attorney, particularly when you need to appeal. The attorneys at DeHaan Busse are available for a FERS disability consultation.
FERS NEWS
From USPS National Association Of Letter Carriers – SOURCE: www.nalc.org
In a legal opinion, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) has determined that Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe’s claim that the Postal Service has the right to cut its mail delivery schedule from six days to five days “rests upon a faulty USPS premise.” The GAO added that there is no legislative authority from Congress that allows this change.
“The GAO agrees with an ever-growing chorus of voices that the postmaster general doesn’t have the law on his side in this matter,” says NALC President, Fredric Rolando. “To cut a day of mail delivery would disrupt the nation’s only universal delivery network, place disproportionate harm on rural communities, senior citizens, and small-business owners who rely on six-day mail service, and it would only serve to accelerate a financial death spiral for the Postal Service.”
The GAO wrote that USPS is bound by current law and the current continuing resolution to fund the federal government, which requires “USPS to continue 6-day delivery and rural delivery of mail at not less than the 1983 level” – that is, six days a week.