What Is a Vocational Expert and What do they do  in My Case?

What Is a Vocational Expert and What do they do  in My Case?

Many injured workers and disability claimants are surprised to learn that doctors are not always the only experts involved in their case.  In both Alabama workers’ compensation claims and Social Security Disability cases, another type of expert may play an important role:

A vocational expert.

Many people hear this term for the first time shortly before a hearing and immediately wonder “What is a vocational expert, and why are they testifying about my case?”  The answer is that vocational experts help determine how an injury, illness, or disability affects a person’s ability to work and earn a living.

What Is a Vocational Expert?

A vocational expert is a professional who evaluates a person’s ability to work in light of their:

• Medical restrictions;
• Education;
• Job history;
• Training;
• Acquired Work Skills;
• Transferability of said Work Skills;
• Age; and
• Employment opportunities.

Unlike physicians, vocational experts do not diagnose medical conditions; instead, they focus on how those medical conditions affect a person’s ability to perform work activities and earn wages.

In many cases, vocational experts are asked to answer a simple but important question: “Given this person’s limitations, what work can they still perform?”

Why Are Vocational Experts Used?

Medical evidence is only part of the picture.  A doctor may determine that a worker can no longer:

• Lift heavy objects;
• Stand for extended periods;
• Climb ladders;
• Bend repeatedly; or
• Perform other physical activities.

The next question becomes: “How do those limitations affect the person’s ability to work?”

That is where vocational experts become important.

Vocational Experts in Alabama Workers’ Compensation Cases

Vocational experts frequently play an important role in Alabama workers’ compensation claims involving permanent injuries that prevent an injured worker from returning to the job they were performing when they suffered their on-the-job injury. This is particularly true in cases involving:

• Back injuries;
• Neck injuries;
• Shoulder injuries;
• Chronic pain;
• Multiple injuries;
• Permanent work restrictions; and
• Permanent Total Disability claims.

Loss of Earning Capacity

In many non-scheduled injury cases, the issue is not simply whether the worker has suffered a permanent impairment.  In cases where the injured worker’s injuries prohibit them from returning the their job, issue becomes “How has the injury affected the worker’s ability to earn a living given their permanent limitations?”

A vocational expert may evaluate the worker’s age; education; prior work history, skills obtained during prior employment, the transferability of said work skills; permanent physical restrictions and job availability in the local job market. The expert then offers an opinion regarding the worker’s loss of earning capacity or employability.

Permanent Total Disability

Vocational testimony is often especially important in Permanent Total Disability cases. Under Alabama law, a worker does not have to be completely helpless to be considered permanently and totally disabled; instead, the issue is whether the worker is capable of performing their previous employment or obtaining other reasonably gainful employment with similar pay.

Similar pay is an important issue in Alabama workers’ compensation claims as it shows an injured worker does not have to be totally limited from performing any type of job.  For example: A steel worker earned $100,000.00 a year, but suffers a serious injury.  After reaching maximum medical improvement, their authorized treating physician limits them to sedentary work, but the available jobs are minimum wage jobs.  The fact there are some jobs the injured worker may be able to perform does not mean that they are not entitled to permanent total disability benefits as the difference in income is not “similar.”

Vocational Experts in Social Security Disability Cases

Vocational experts also play a major role in Social Security Disability hearings. In fact, most Social Security hearings include vocational expert testimony.

Unlike workers’ compensation cases, the vocational expert is often called by the Administrative Law Judge.

What Does the Vocational Expert Do at a Disability Hearing?

The vocational expert typically reviews:

• The claimant’s work history;
• Job duties;
• Skill levels;
• Transferability of acquired job skills;
• Education;
• Age; and
• Medical limitations.

The judge then asks a series of hypothetical questions.  For example: “Assume a person of the claimant’s age, education, and work history who can only perform sedentary work. Could that person perform any jobs?”  The vocational expert then provides testimony regarding available occupations.

Notice the difference in Alabama workers’ compensation claims and claims for Social Security Disability benefits.  “Similar pay” is not something that the Social Security Administration takes into consideration.

What Are Transferable Skills?

One of the most important concepts vocational experts analyze in both Alabama workers’ compensation claims and claims for Social Security Disability benefits is transferable skills.  Transferable skills are skills learned in prior employment that may be used in another occupation.

Examples may include:

• Supervisory experience;
• Computer skills;
• Recordkeeping;
• Scheduling;
• Customer service;
• Administrative work.

The existence—or absence—of transferable skills can significantly affect the outcome of a disability claim.

Why Age Matters

Vocational experts also consider age in both type of claims.  Social Security recognizes that vocational adjustment generally becomes more difficult as workers grow older.  For this reason, age categories such as:

• Younger Individual;
• Closely Approaching Advanced Age;
• Advanced Age; and
• Closely Approaching Retirement Age

may affect how vocational factors are evaluated.

Do Vocational Experts Decide the Case?

No, the vocational expert does not decide the case.  The ultimate decision belongs to:

• The trial judge in a workers’ compensation case; or
• The Administrative Law Judge in a Social Security Disability hearing.

However, vocational testimony can be very influential because it helps the decision-maker understand how medical limitations affect employability.

Vocational experts play an important role in both Alabama workers’ compensation claims and Social Security Disability cases.  Their job is not to diagnose medical conditions but to evaluate how those conditions affect a person’s ability to work, earn wages, and obtain employment.

Understanding what a vocational expert does can help injured workers and disability claimants better understand how these cases are evaluated and why vocational evidence often becomes so important.

For decades, the attorneys at Powell and Denny have represented injured workers and disability claimants throughout Alabama and have extensive experience working with vocational experts in both workers’ compensation and Social Security Disability cases, so if you have questions about vocational experts, loss of earning capacity, Permanent Total Disability, SSDI benefits, SSI benefits, or an appeal of a denied claim, don’t hesitate to contact the experienced attorneys at Powell and Denny today a free consultation; remember. Virtual appointments are available through Zoom so you can meet with one of the attorneys of Powell and Denny from wherever you live, and remember-there is no fee unless you win.

Powell and Denny: We Work When You Can’t.

Offices in Birmingham and Huntsville, Alabama.