In yesterday’s post, we looked at the case of the disabled truck driver and the sworn testimony of the Federal Government’s hired professional witness.  Today, we look at the types of questions I use to cross examine these experts in order to successfully prove my client’s disability case.
At ABRAMS LANDAU, Ltd., we put on evidence that:
1. Our client is unable to perform his previous type of work,
2. Significant limitations impinge on any range of work and eliminate large numbers of occupations a person could otherwise perform,
3. Our client’s present impairments are disabling and have lasted in excess of 12 months,
4. The claimant’s impairments prevent him from engaging in substantial gainful employment, both the types of work he did before and other types of work,
5. This claimant must take unscheduled breaks and will miss  more than 4 days per month according to his own, treating health care providers,
6. The uncontroverted lay (non-expert) testimony shows that others do the: shopping, cleaning, cooking, etc.
7. Claimant does almost nothing around the home,
8. Multiple factors in preclude substantial gainful activity,
9. The judge must consider ALL of the claimant’s impairments in combination, including those that are not severe on their own, when determining whether the P has a severe impairment.  (Pursuant to SSR 85-28, an impairment is “not severe” only where the medical evidence clearly establishes that it has a minimal or non-serious effect on a P’s ability to perform work-related activities),
10. The medical evidence supports a finding of disability, as summarized by the claimant’s treating doctors