During your initial Social Security disability hearing, the government will probably trot out a so-called “vocational expert” who will offer his judgment about whether you are capable of holding any kind of job, no matter how menial or outside your comfort zone. This “expert” will weigh the nature of your physical or mental disability, your duties on your last job, and the pattern of employment in your area (or even in the U.S. as a whole) to determine if you are eligible for disability benefits or if you must go back to work.

As you can probably guess, this “vocational expert” is on the government's side, not yours—and will usually not be above fudging, or even fabricating, “facts” to convince the Social Security examiner to reject your application. The fact is that the vast majority of Social Security disability applications are rejected on the first, second, and even third go-rounds—sometimes because the “vocational expert” throws a monkey wrench in the works by continuing to insist that you can hold a certain kind of job, even if no such jobs are available in your area. (For example, if you used to be a construction worker, and have a permanently wrenched back, the vocational expert may insist that you can work at a call center—even if no call centers near your home are currently recruiting.)

What can you do if a vocational expert bars your way to collecting Social Security disability benefits? If you are truly disabled, and incapable of holding any kind of job, you need to hire an experienced attorney who can represent your interests and rebut this “expert’s” analysis of the job market. Questions? Contact the northern California Social Security disability attorneys at the Ledgerwood Law Group (888-761-7383) for a free consultation today!