Vident Partners provides vetted vocational rehabilitation expert witnesses for cases involving lost earning capacity, transferable skills analysis, return-to-work feasibility, labor market surveys, and life care planning economic projections in personal injury and disability litigation. Request a referral today.
Find a Vocational Rehabilitation Expert →Overview
Vocational rehabilitation experts evaluate a person's ability to work, their pre-injury and post-injury earning capacity, and the impact of injuries or disabilities on their vocational future. These experts are essential in virtually every personal injury and wrongful death case where lost earning capacity is claimed, making vocational rehabilitation one of the highest-demand expert witness specialties across all categories. The core of vocational rehabilitation testimony is the transferable skills analysis (TSA), which evaluates the injured person's education, training, work history, and residual functional capacity to determine what occupations they can perform post-injury. Using the U.S. Department of Labor's O*NET database, the Dictionary of Occupational Titles (DOT), and Bureau of Labor Statistics earnings data, vocational experts project the range of suitable occupations and the associated earnings, then calculate the difference between pre-injury and post-injury earning capacity. Labor market surveys document the availability of specific jobs in the relevant geographic labor market, providing empirical support for vocational opinions. These surveys are particularly important in cases where the defendant argues that suitable alternative employment exists, and the plaintiff contends that theoretical job categories do not translate to actual available positions. Vocational experts also address Social Security disability claims (where they testify before Administrative Law Judges about whether jobs exist in significant numbers in the national economy), workers compensation vocational assessments, ADA reasonable accommodation evaluations, and the vocational component of life care plans. Their testimony interfaces closely with forensic economists who calculate the present value of lost earning capacity, making coordination between these experts critical.
Case Types
Lost earning capacity analysis in personal injury and wrongful death
Transferable skills analysis and post-injury employability assessment
Labor market survey and job availability documentation
Social Security disability vocational testimony before ALJs
ADA reasonable accommodation and disability employment analysis
Qualifications
Related Specialties
FAQ
A vocational rehabilitation expert should hold CRC (Certified Rehabilitation Counselor) or CVE (Certified Vocational Evaluator) certification, have a master's degree in rehabilitation counseling or vocational evaluation, and be proficient in transferable skills analysis using O*NET and DOT resources. Extensive testimony experience in personal injury and disability proceedings is essential.
Vocational experts are needed in virtually every personal injury case where lost earning capacity is claimed, workers compensation disputes, Social Security disability hearings, wrongful termination damages cases, ADA reasonable accommodation disputes, and life care planning cases where future vocational capacity must be assessed.
Vocational rehabilitation expert fees typically range from $200 to $450 per hour. A complete vocational evaluation with transferable skills analysis, labor market survey, and written report typically costs $3,000 to $8,000. Hourly rates are lower than many medical specialties, but vocational experts are retained in a very high volume of cases.
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