In this article, an Ocala Social Security disability claims attorney discusses the profound impact that testimony from a vocational expert can have on your disability case.
The vocational expert can play a prominent part in your disability case, and this may or may not be to your advantage. You and your Ocala Social Security disability lawyer are up against someone whose statements can cost you your case. Administrative law judges turn to the vocational expert to explain what you have done in the past, how you performed your work and how the job is done elsewhere in the job market. Whether or not you did it that way and even if you cannot perform the work that way anymore, if it is determined that you can function in the position as it is done in other places you are unlikely to be ruled disabled. Administrative law judges rely heavily on vocational experts, to the degree that some consider their testimony an indispensible part of the hearing process.
In outlining the work you did for the past fifteen years, the vocational expert will also explain the kinds of skills you developed on the job and the physical demands it placed on you. If you were required to lift heavy objects, stand, stoop, reach or walk for extended periods of time, those factors will form part of the explanation that he or she makes to the ALJ. Further, if you gained skills that would require more than a month for someone else to learn, you may be considered able to adapt them to less demanding positions. The vocational expert will match your adaptable abilities to different types of work and note the existence of such positions in the job market.
The judge will not ask the expert to speculate on the availability of open positions, your prospects of gaining employment or whether or not you are eligible for disability benefits. Questioning will be more attuned to your ability to perform past relevant work and the presence or absence of work that your impairment does allow you to do in the existing job market. The judge will weigh this information, and you and your Ocala Social Security disability lawyer will then be notified of the decision.
If you are involved in a disability case and need advice, guidance or representation, your Ocala Social Security disability claims attorney can help. Contact CJ Henry Law Firm, PLLC by calling 352.304.5300 today.
