Some people with serious circulatory problems are told by their physicians to spend most of their time with their legs elevated about heart level. An attorney I know reports that recently he heard a vocational expert testify at his client's hearing that a person with such a limitation could perform the work of a cashier.
Does that sound plausible to you? Does it make you wonder if there is something fundamentally wrong with the vocational expert process at Social Security when such testimony is given with a straight face and then received by an Administrative Law Judge without apparent skepticism?
Does that sound plausible to you? Does it make you wonder if there is something fundamentally wrong with the vocational expert process at Social Security when such testimony is given with a straight face and then received by an Administrative Law Judge without apparent skepticism?
6 comments:
During my hearing,the vocational expert testified to something erroneous.My question,is this. Would contradictory evidence outweigh the vocational expert?
I think I'll pass on the cashier who keeps their crotch at eye-level, thanks.
Well, the vocational expert described by the attorney was sure doing one heck of a job! When I retired I thought about going to school to get credentialled as a VE. Then I looked at the curriculum at FSU and decided against it. The courses offered didn't seem to have a lot to do with the DIB program as I knew it. Well, there are VE's and VE's, I guess.
Honestly, I think most of these VEs are completely full of it. Half of them will concede on cross that they haven't done job market studies or placement of a disabled worker in years, if ever. And unfortunately, even if you can prove their lunacy the ALJ will still believe every word they say.
Don't you think the ALJ's often use VE's as sort of a substitute for their own responsibility to make a fair judgement? VE's know little about the case, but judges rely on them as experts.
Could and do are two seperate things. A VE can comment on how many perform their work with legs elevated, but to comment if they could, he would have to explain how he determined the altered position would not affect productivity.
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