Recently a television station in Charlotte, North Carolina ran a story about the Social Security disability decision making process called “Obsolete Jobs” Prevent People from Receiving Disability Payments (click on link to view story). The story recounted the struggles of a Charlotte man who with a severe and painful back injury who was denied at his disability hearing by a judge who concluded that he has the capacity to perform a variety of non physically demanding jobs that exist in the economy.
Since the underlying question in every disability hearing asks whether the claimant has the capacity to perform even a simple, entry-level job, judges rely on vocational expert witnesses to identify jobs that a “hypothetical person” with the same impairments as the claimant could perform. Continue reading →
In most Social Security disability hearings, judges call on expert witnesses called “vocational experts” to help them evaluate your capacity for working. As a general rule, Social Security defines “disability” in terms of a claimant’s ability to perform the tasks of a simple, entry level job, therefore it makes sense that the judge will need to identify the specific activity limitations that arise from your medical and/or psychological problems and he will need a way to determine if these limitations impact your capacity for work.