Claimants applying for Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits often encounter a Vocational Expert at SSDI hearing stage. If you are applying for disability benefits, it’s important to understand the role vocational experts play in a typical disability hearing. By preparing in advance or talking to your disability lawyer about the vocational expert’s potential testimony during the hearing, you can improve your chances of a successful outcome.
What Is a Vocational Expert?
There are four stages of the Social Security disability application process within the Social Security Administration (SSA). The first stage is the initial application stage followed by the reconsideration stage, a hearing with an administrative law judge (ALJ) and the final stage at Social Security’s Appeals Council.
Most disability applications are denied at initial application. Individuals with denied claims appeal the SSA’s decision through the reconsideration process. Most of these appeals are also denied. Individuals with denied claims after reconsideration then progress to a hearing in front of an ALJ. This is the stage at which individuals may encounter a disability hearing vocational expert.
SSA’s Vocational Experts ( VEs for short), provide impartial expert opinion evidence that an ALJ considers when making a decision about disability. VEs review the provided exhibits prior to the scheduled hearing. They then testify in person or by video or teleconference and occasionally provide opinions in writing.
ALJs use VEs in many cases in which they must determine whether a claimant can do his or her previous work or other work. A VE provides both factual and expert opinion evidence based on knowledge of:
- The skill level and physical and mental demands of occupations
- The characteristics of work settings
- The existence and incidence of jobs within occupations
- Transferrable skills analysis and SSA regulatory requirements for transferability of work skills
What To Expect From a Vocational Expert’s Testimony
VEs provide evidence by answering questions posed by the ALJ. The claimant’s disability lawyer or the claimant, if unrepresented, may also question VEs. Often, the ALJ begins the questioning by asking the VE if the claimant could still perform his or her previous work given functional limitations the ALJ provides the VE about the claimant. The ALJ pulls the claimant’s functional limitations directly from the medical evidence associated with the claim.
The ALJ uses the VE’s answers to inform their decision as to whether the claimant is disabled. But, the VE and ALJ should not comment on the medical evidence presented at hearing. They are not medical professionals and must limit their decision and answers to the hypothetical functional limitations associated with the claimant’s medical evidence.
After the ALJ questions the VE to their satisfaction, the claimant’s disability lawyer then can question the VE. During this time, your disability lawyer may ask the VE to revisit any expert evidence they provided that may negatively impact the hearing outcome. However, if the VE’s answers strengthened the claim, the disability lawyer may not question the VE further.
Finally, it’s important to remember that VEs will not comment on local job conditions. Or, a claimant’s ability to find a job near their home.
Disability Lawyers in Greensboro, NC
This content was provided by Collins Price, PLLC. Our experienced disability lawyers in Greensboro, NC provide clients with professional and impactful legal representation at every stage of the disability process. If you are applying for or appealing a denied disability claim, contact our firm today for a free consultation. There is no obligation to hire our firm and no fee for our services if you don’t win your claim.
