In my practice, I always try to schedule an in-office, in-person meeting with my client prior to his/her hearing. Usually, I try to meet a week or two before the actual hearing date to discuss the hearing procedures and to practice answering the questions that are likely going to be asked.
You have received notice of your hearing date from the SSA. You are going through all the paperwork when you come across a piece of correspondence indicating that a vocational expert (VE) witness will be present at your hearing. 'What is a vocational expert witness?,' you may wonder. In case you have never heard of the VE, you have come to the right place. Below find everything you need to know about the vocational expert witness.
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This afternoon, I tried an SSDI case involving a 53 year old woman claiming disability based on diabetes and associated complications. In reviewing the record it appears to me that my client had been diabetic for several years prior to her diagnosis and has most likely suffered permanent vision and nerve damage. Unfortunately her medical care has been suboptimal and while she has been compliant with treatment the record does not contain enough for me to make an argument based on the listing at 9.08. Instead I went with a functional capacity argument.
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Like many federal bureaucracies, Social Security has developed its own language for describing many of the concepts that underlie a disability evaluation. Since disability considers your capacity to work by looking at both your past work and about other jobs, a description of your past work is an important part of your case evaluation. You should try to become familiar with some of these terms prior to your hearing.
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In my law office, I always try to schedule a pre-hearing meeting with my client one to two weeks prior to my client's hearing. I use this meeting to discuss the "big picture" issues and to practice asking and answering questions that my client is likely to face.
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what are your chances of winning a case at a hearing when there is no voc rehab guy or medical specialist to assist the alj in a decision.
–Lamont
My response: Lamont, I think that yes you can win if the judge does not use a VE or an ME. Here is how I would analyze:
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One of the least intuitive elements of a Social Security hearing is the vocational witness testimony. Social Security judges frequently request the presence of vocational witnesses (also known as "VE's"), independent experts who appear at your hearing to classify your past work and to answer hypothetical questions from the judge about work you might be able to do, given the limitations set out in the hypothetical question.
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Yesterday, I appeared with a client at a video hearing with a judge from West Virginia. This was actually our second hearing – the first hearing was held in August, 2006. My client applied for benefits in July, 2003, which means that his case has been pending over 3 1/2 years. During that time, my client and his wife had to file bankruptcy and he has exhausted all of his pension and 401(k) money.
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Can something I say at my Disabilty hearing cause me to lose my case? My ALJ asked me if my RA had gotten worse since I quit working, I replied no, and he said "so it doesnt get worse with movement?", I replied "no" to that too, but he didnt ask me why I said that and my lawyer told me not to elaborate and to just answer the question.
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