What To Expect From a Vocational Evaluation In Workers’ Compensation?

When injured workers seek their just compensation, they're quickly met with a brutal reality check: insurance companies don't really care about them and will do whatever they (legally) can to pay them out as little as possible. 

But that doesn't mean workers should throw all four in the air - there's a way to get compensated fairly. 

It can be done with the help of a vocational expert. In this article, we'll show you exactly what they are and how you can benefit from working with them.

What Do Vocational Experts Do?

Before tackling what is a vocational evaluation in workers’ compensation, it’s important to be familiar with the personas performing these evaluations - vocational experts.

These experts hold a lot of authority in the field of vocational rehabilitation and possess extensive knowledge about earning capacity, cost of replacement labor, and lost earnings. 

Because they are highly qualified in discovering and presenting relevant information, vocational experts are often called upon to provide their testimony in personal injury, disability, and workers’ compensation cases. 

During the evaluation itself, vocation experts will determine the following information:

1. The extent of the injury of the claimant and the time of recovery
2. The future limitations of the person’s working ability
3. Jobs available to a person with the same physical limitations

If needed, they can also perform an economic assessment, which might include determining the claimant's earnings before the injury, estimating their future earnings and calculating the value of those earnings, and determining the difference between an injured and a non-injured person.

Vocational Assessment in Workers’ Comp

While this assessment is meant to help you with your benefits, the reality is different. The question of what is a vocational evaluation in workers’ compensation can be also answered by saying it’s a delay tactic on behalf of insurance companies.

To put it bluntly, they’ll attempt to cut off your benefits by trying to prove that you are healthy enough to work. Their initial attempt will include your employer finding you a job position in accordance with your injury restrictions.

While this might seem shady, we have to remind you this is all within the confines of the law, and you shouldn’t view it as a personal vendetta. Your workers’ compensation benefits are simply costing the insurance companies money, and so it’s within their best interest for you to return to work.

We’ve finally made it to what is vocational evaluation in workers’ compensation. If finding a job with your employer was unsuccessful, the insurance company will request you go through a vocational assessment. 

This evaluation is also known as Earning power assessment, and as the name suggests its main goal is to assess your earning power. The problem here is that there is an agenda, and the agenda is to obtain information that proves you should receive lower compensation.

However, don’t panic. Simply tell the truth. Describe your injury, and your limitations, and describe your capacity to do physical work. Don’t let the person interviewing you lead you on with their questions. Keep your answers honest, short, and to the point.

Don’t make claims that might come across as careless, as the insurance company can use those claims to revoke your benefits. Don’t use language that implies that you’re purposefully avoiding work. All the information you share will be available to the insurance company, so if your statements imply you’re not willing to work, they will use them to show that you’re not cooperating.

After The Assessment

After the assessment, the vocational expert will write a report containing a listing of jobs within the scope of your limitations. Next, the insurance company might cite the available jobs and a petition to suspend your benefits. 

If you’re getting invited to interviews for the jobs listed in the report, you have to show up. You need to demonstrate that you did your best to re-enter the workforce if your case goes to a workers’ compensation trial. If you don’t show up for the job interviews, the insurance company might try to revoke your case.

When it comes to the interview, make sure to note the physical requirements of the job and all the other details. We recommend you also record the interview and make a copy of the job description. 

Try to apply to all jobs that fit your physical limitation and keep a detailed record of each interview you attend and each job you apply for.

Do You Need a Vocational Expert?

Most people are willing to go through this entire process alone even though the odds are stacked against them. However, you don’t have to keep it that way. You can hire an attorney to help you through this ordeal.

With an attorney, you can get a lot more out of vocational evaluations. Your attorney can be present during the meeting with the counselor, and by having a legal professional beside you on these assessments, you can avoid saying anything that goes against your case. An attorney can make sure that the counselor doesn’t cross the line. Your legal counsel can ensure that all the questions you get asked are relevant to the case.

The same principle applies to working with a vocational expert of your own. Since an insurance company can hire a vocational expert to interview you, so can your attorney.

This is especially important in case of serious work injuries. The expert hired by the insurance company will try to explain why you should return to work. Naturally, your vocational expert will try to refute that and explain why you should receive workers’ compensation benefits.

This isn’t to say that you are 100% certain to win just because your attorney hired an expert. These experts are only concerned with evidence and documentation, so they can only reach a conclusion based on the facts available. 

If the evidence shows that your injuries are so severe that you can’t work even in a limited capacity, the vocational expert will be able to support that conclusion.

OAS Is Your Best Bet

If you’ve suffered a work injury and you’re seeking your well-deserved benefits, it’s always a good idea to get in touch with a vocational expert to learn how to protect yourself and your benefits.

If you feel that you still haven’t recovered from your injury, you need to prioritize yourself and your health. An OAS vocational expert, along with your attorney can fight on your behalf and help you recover in peace.

Our experts have 40 years of experience handling cases similar to yours, and through a single consultation, we can help put your mind at ease and give you the proper roadmap to navigating your workers’ compensation benefits process. Call us at 1-800-292-1919 or fill out our online form and protect your benefits.