Determining whether you are able to work given your health problems is the number one issue when deciding whether to award you disability benefits. This is because disability benefits are intended to replace income you would be able to earn if you were capable of working. To assist the Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) with determining whether you have a medical condition that qualifies for Social Security disability benefits, an Ocala disability lawyer may suggest asking a supervisor or co-worker to testify.
Your Ocala disability attorney will meet with your coworker witness before your hearing to make sure he or she knows how to testify properly. If the co-worker merely offers his or her opinion that you can’t do your job because you are disabled, your coworker’s testimony will not help your claim very much.
Strong testimony from a co-worker will describe the witness’s observations of your condition. For example, a co-worker witness should describe your job duties, including the kind of physical and mental tasks you must complete on a daily basis. Next, the witness should describe any situations where the witness observed you struggling with the duties of the job after suffering from the medical condition at issue. This type of strong testimony will provide the ALJ with evidence of what type of tasks you can and can’t perform. In addition, this testimony can show how your condition affects you on a daily basis.
A co-worker may offer a unique perspective regarding your ability to complete work related duties. A co-worker may be able to describe:
• How long you and the co-worker have worked together and the type of work you have performed.
• How your ability to complete work related tasks changed following your accident or onset of your medical condition.
• Any situations that occurred in which the co-worker noticed your pain was really affecting you, and how the co-worker could tell you were in pain.
If you would like a free evaluation of your Social Security disability case from an experienced Ocala Social Security attorney, contact the CJ Henry Law Firm at (352) 304-5300.
