Thanks guys. I'm not real sure how the hearing went. My attorney told me when I got there that the judge I had was one of the better ones to draw. It's really hard to say how it went though. There is a vocational specialist, or something similar there. He listens to what you are saying and he is working on a laptop computer the entire time. He is bringing up job classification that he thinks you could do with your physical limitations. He admitted fairly quickly that I couldn't do the kind of work I did before I was injured. He mentioned an inside phone sales job that I did for three years back in the late 90's, but then decided that I probably couldn't do that either. He kept coming up with these "food service" type jobs and other stuff that he said would allow for my issues, but my attorney did a pretty good job shooting down most of those ideas. I can't stand, or walk for very long at all and I can't even stay seated for very long without being able to stand and walk around frequently. I also have several days a month where I just physically can't even leave the house. He eventually got the guy to concede that I would probably not be able to keep a job when I had so many absences, particularly in the first month of employment. I didn't get a particularly good feeling from the judge, but I don't know the guy so it's hard to get a good read. My attorney said it is really hard to tell what it more likely. He said it could really go either way.
It's all really up to the judge at this point. My attorney said that he really hopes to hear from the judge in the next few days or weeks with a proposal for how long to go back for my retro pay. If he does, we are in. If he doesn't, that means that he will probably deny it. My attorney did say, however that this judge usually rules within about 30 days or so and that if I am approved , that I should have a check in full for my retro pay about 30 days after that. So, that's quicker than I was told it might be. And that is awesome.
