How a Vocational Expert Can Help HR and Risk Managers

How a Vocational Expert Can Help HR and Risk Managers

In 2020, over 2.7 million workplace injuries were reported by private businesses. So how can these types of injuries be avoided in your business?

Human Resources and Risk Managers do a lot to ensure their company stays safe. They work hard to find potential causes of accidents or losses. They try to implement preventative measures. And yet, despite these managers’ best efforts, employees still become injured on the job.

Furthermore, these employees usually file a claim for disability benefits while they recover from their injuries. 

As a business owner, human resources manager, or risk manager – it becomes your job to minimize the costs to your company and the damage it could sustain, but where to start? That’s where a Vocational Expert comes into the picture.

Vocational experts are professionals qualified by the SSA to determine if a person is legitimately disabled. In doing so, they can work with risk managers to reach a settlement that helps the company and the claimant. Read on to discover how this works in the guide below!

What a Vocational Expert Does

A vocational expert is not an attorney on behalf of the SSA. Instead, they serve as expert legal witnesses that can corroborate if a claimant is legitimately incapable of doing their job due to injuries. They can also help this person find new work if they have become permanently disabled. 

These vocational experts usually have specific training that makes them “experts.” For example, most vocational legal experts have extensive knowledge and experience with the current labor market conditions of an industry. Similarly, they understand how the SSA determines if a claimant

Most importantly, these vocational experts have experience with the vocational reference sources that the SSA recognizes. This way, they can issue vocational testing that complies with the SSA’s standards. 

Vocational Evaluation

One of the most critical functions a vocational expert has is conducting vocational evaluations. These evaluations are processes that vocational experts use to determine whether a claimant can perform or pursue a job. 

A forensic vocational evaluation considers many factors. Firstly, a vocational expert will examine current industry conditions to determine what a job requires of its workers. 

This information can be of vital use to human resources and risk managers. Vocational experts can provide risk managers with extensive information about the conditions of their industry and what accidents ensue. 

From there, risk managers can form more careful preventative measures to ensure fewer employees become injured. The expert can also help risk management prove whether a worker needs disability benefits. We’ll discuss this more in the last section.

Expert Vocational Testimony

Finally, vocational experts provide their expert opinion about a claimant’s case in court. Usually, the claimant’s attorney will ask the expert hypothetical questions about the situation.

For example, they may ask, “If somebody of the same age and medical history as my client experienced this, what would you suggest?” The vocational legal expert then provides their answer. 

Once again, this can help risk managers. This legal-expert witness can inform a company how to treat the claimant and how much time they may need to recover. 

Get Help From a Vocational Expert

A vocational expert can help human resources and risk management clarify many questions. All you have to do is find the best expert for your case.

We invite you to consider contacting the experts at Solutions Northwest Inc., we can help you find a vocational expert or give you general vocational consulting. Our vocational experts are involved in personal injury, workers’ compensation, and family law.

If you need our guidance, our legal experts are ready to guide you through the process.

Contact us today to make an appointment!

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