How Vocational Assessments Can Help Veterans Get Disability Benefits?

As a busy attorney, you work hard for your clients to ensure they receive the best legal representation possible. You may feel like many others, that the work you do on behalf of veterans to get them all the benefits they deserve is extremely important. 

We are sure that you are also aware that your veteran’s case becomes stronger when you have extensive evidence on your side to prove damages. Part of your evidence should be able to prove that your client suffered different types of injuries and the extent of those injuries. 

Sometimes it can be difficult to prove damages in disability cases. If you find yourself in that situation, we can help. At Occupational Assessment Services, Inc., our vocational experts understand veteran’s injuries and personal injury damages. We also have expertise in the damages and losses that can occur to veterans. 

If, after reading this article, you have additional questions about how our vocational expert or life care planner can assist you with your own cases, please contact us at Occupational Assessment Services, Inc. (OAS). We have served as life care planners and vocational experts in a variety of cases. 

We are one of the most experienced employability and life care planning firms in the United States. To discuss your case, feel free to contact OAS with any questions at 1-800-292-1919 or through our contactform.

The Designation Your Veteran Client Needs

When it comes to obtaining disability benefits for your client who is a veteran, you will want to achieve VA Total Disability Individual Unemployability Designation Benefits. 

At OAS, we are well versed in helping you achieve these types of designations for your client. In order to assist you we provide the following:

1. Medical Record Review
2. Vocational Diagnostic Interviews
3. Labor Market Research

The rating system the VA uses is based upon each of the veteran’s individual disabilities, which leaves the veteran with some form of impairment. This means that the VA views a veteran’s disabilities separately and not how all the disabilities fit together as a whole. 

The other problem is that there is a lack of vocational expertise and experience in the VA. There is difficulty finding someone who is a qualified vocational counselor whose only role is to handle individual unemployability cases. 

Vocational experts, like the ones at OAS, will review every case and review:

1. The veteran’s prior education
2. The veteran’s past work experience
3. The veteran’s current service-related disabilities and the limitations they face
4. The effect of any medication and pain impacts the veteran’s ability to focus, pay attention to written and verbal instructions
5. How effectively they can complete tasks in an efficient and timely manner.
6. The veteran’s ability to communicate and get along with managers, co-workers, and clients.
7. The veteran’s ability to handle stressful situations
8. Any accommodations in the workplace that the veteran’s disabilities may require.

A qualified vocational expert will take all the different factors under consideration and evaluate how well the veteran will be able to function in a workplace environment.

When dealing with vocational evaluations , the Bureau of Labor Statistics has compiled a Dictionary of Occupational Titles that contain most job types. These different job types are then categorized by general educational development (GED) level of skill, the strength of rating, specific vocational preparation, and the guide for occupations and exploration. 

The vocational expert will look at the veteran’s past work history and education in order to be able to assess what skills may transfer from past employment to future employment. 

What is a Vocational Evaluation?

A vocational evaluation will look at your client’s psychological and physical disabilities as well as their education level and any skills when they attempt to determine the functional impact on a veteran’s ability to work. By doing that, a vocational evaluation expert can determine how the veteran’s education and skills match up in today’s employment marketplace. 

What Will A Vocational Expert’s Report Typically Include?

As noted, a vocational expert’s report may include a medical record review, identification of all service-connected conditions, a breakdown of the veteran’s past work experience, an evaluation of any transferable skills, and a vocational discussion.

While it may be obvious to you, as their attorney, that a veteran is unable to work due to their service-related disabilities, the Veterans Administration may not see it that way. By obtaining a vocational expert’s report, can improve your client’s changes of being awarded individual unemployability benefits. 

Let the Experts at OAS Provide the Information You Need to Get Appropriate Compensation for Your Clients Who Are Veterans

The experts at Occupational Assessment Services, Inc. (OAS) have over forty years of experience documenting the income potential and employment capacity of those veterans with disabilities and disabled individuals in many types of cases.

OAS specializes in working with the plaintiff or defense attorneys to assist in objectively documenting the economics in a case. From the initial referral to the trial testimony, OAS works with the retaining attorney so that the vocational assessment of the case can be objectively and efficiently presented. 

OAS has served as experts on many multi-million-dollar outcomes including a record-setting $102 million verdict in a NY catastrophic injury case. Through objective consulting, analysis, and vocational testing, we specialize in assisting attorneys in documenting damages.

We strongly believe in the importance of a clear and understandable presentation of the facts. OAS is the leading provider of Vocational Expert and Life Care Planning Services for Plaintiff and Defense attorneys. 

We also specialize in evaluating earning capacity in divorce cases and documenting the damages in cases where an individual has been severely injured. We provide objective findings on how the injuries affect a persons’ ability to work and earn money, as well as the cost of care required in catastrophic injuries.

OAS is your Vocational Expert & Life Care Planner Nationwide, with offices in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Georgia, Florida, Texas, Nevada, and California. 

To discuss your case, call us at   1-800-292-1919 , contact us at a location near you, or through our online form.