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Your cross-examination of the vocational expert can save the claimant's benefits-and her self-worth.
IMAGINE THE FOLLOWING: You represent a client in a disability case before the Social Security Administration ("SSA"). Your client, a 56-year old woman who has worked as a machinist for 27 years, testifies on direct examination that she can no longer do her job because a mild stroke has diminished her eyesight, coordination, and her ability to use her hands. The government's vocational expert ("VE") testifies that your client's alertness and ability to interact well in the workplace are transferable skills, and that her ability to read engineering drawings and use small precision tools can be used in unskilled work. She can work as a part-time telemarketer, says the VE. And furthermore, the VE testifies, your client really isn't disabled because she has the kinds of limitations that employers routinely accommodate under the Americans with Disabilities Act. The Administrative Law Judge ("ALJ") comments that given your client's ability to put in a normal workday, and the limitations on coordination and use of her hands, it still seems reasonable that she can do telemarketing work.
Your client looks at you nervously. She doesn't like the way things are shaping up. It's your turn to cross-examine the VE. Can you save this case for your client? Absolutely.
THE IMPORTANCE OF CROSS-EXAMINATION Your cross-examination of the VE can make the difference between winning and losing a social security disability case. Vocational experts, even those who have been at it for years, often have little understanding of the law that applies to the vocational issues in these cases. If you know the law better than the VE does, you can pinpoint the weaknesses in his or her testimony and conduct a very strong cross-examination. In this article, we will dissect the testimony of the hypothetical VE described above, and take a look at just how you can use cross-examination to demolish that testimony. But first, you have to know how to prepare for it.
Preparation Step 1: Get the Dictionary
The Dictionary of Occupational Titles ("DOT") identifies all job titles in the national economy and defines job duties, exertional level, skill level, and minimum vocational preparation. Selected Characteristics of Occupations Defined in the Revised...