Don’t Monkey Around: The Use of Standard Methodology to Determine Employability in Personal Injury Cases

A clerical worker slips and falls, injuring his lower back. He returns to work for six months and then stops work. The  Vocational Expert  with over 40 years of experience determines that the Plaintiff is not employable. The examination of the Defendant Vocational Expert, after  vocational testing , determines the Plaintiff is employable and can perform a wide range of clerical sedentary work and has sustained no loss of earnings.

In a deposition, the Plaintiff’s Vocational Expert states that the injured person is unemployable based on the lack of Availability, Placeability, and Employability, a theory the expert has constructed. In a deposition, this expert was asked if this theory had been published or if any other expert used this methodology. The response was negative. The expert was asked if he researched the availability of jobs the Plaintiff could perform within 25 miles of his home and the response was negative. He was asked if he administered any vocational testing, and again, the response was negative. In addition, the expert was unaware that the Plaintiff was actively seeking employment.

Needless to say, this expert’s use of a “made-up” methodology negatively impacted his testimony. It is imperative that Vocational Experts use a peer-reviewed methodology to reach opinions as to the Plaintiff’s employability and earning capacity.

Occupational Assessment Services has been involved as Vocational Expert/ Life Care Planners  in some of the largest verdicts in the United States, including Escobar vs. the State of New Jersey which received a verdict of $166,000,000 and Verni vs. Armark which received a $105,000,000 verdict. Without the use of the OAS Life Care Planner/Vocational Expert comprehensive reports and services, these large verdicts may not have been achieved.

OAS is a Nationwide Vocational and  Life Care Plan Expert  service with offices in NJ, NY, FL, TX, CT, GA, NV, and CA working with both Plaintiff and Defense attorneys. Life Care Plans offered by OAS always include an Employability Evaluation. To see how OAS Vocational Expert/Life Care Plan reports can assist you in documenting the damages in your  Personal Injury cases , consult  oasinc.org  or call  800-292-1919  for a proposal containing the experts’ professional qualifications, fee schedule, and sample Life Care Plan.