Navigating the Social Security Disability (SSD) process can be challenging, no matter what your condition. Many people with perfectly valid claims ultimately find themselves at a hearing with an Administrative Law Judge (ALJ), hoping to overturn an SSD denial.
At any SSD hearing, one of the key players is likely to be a Vocational Expert (VE) hired by the Social Security Administration (SSA) to try to justify their denial of your claim.
What is a vocational expert?
A VE is a professional with specialized knowledge in the job market and employment trends. VEs are supposed to give the ALJ their opinions on a given individual’s ability to work and perform substantial gainful activity (SGA) despite their impairments.
VEs rely on their expertise to identify jobs that match the claimant’s residual functional capacity – which is the maximum level of work-related activities they can perform despite their impairments. Vocational experts typically consider factors such as the disability applicant’s:
- Physical and mental limitations
- Work history
- Age
- Education
- Transferable skills
The problem is that VE’s frequently present the “paper” version of a job, which is far from the reality that people actually experience. For example, they may say that an x-ray nurse only does minimally strenuous work – without factoring in the number of times they might have to reposition heavy patients who aren’t able to reposition themselves in a given day.
Often the best chance that someone has to get their disability claim approved is by successfully challenging a vocational expert’s negative and/or incomplete findings before the ALJ. Obtaining experienced legal assistance in achieving this aim, given its complexity and what is at stake, is wise.