Caudill v. Commissioner of Social Security

District Court, W.D. Washington·Decided November 8, 2021·No. 3:20-cv-06196·Unknown

Opinion

WESTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON TERESA C., Case No. C20-6196 TLF Plaintiff, v. ORDER REVERSING AND REDMANDING DEFENDANT’S COMMISSIONER OF SOCIAL SECURITY, DECISION TO DENY BENEFITS Defendants.

Plaintiff has brought this matter for judicial review of defendant’s denial of plaintiff’s application for Supplemental Security Income disability benefits. The parties have consented to have this matter heard by the undersigned Magistrate Judge. 28 U.S.C. § 636(c); Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 73; Local Rule MJR 13. For the reasons set forth below, the Court REVERSES and REMANDS defendant’s decision to deny benefits. 1. Did the ALJ err in evaluating the medical opinion evidence? 2. Did the ALJ properly assess Plaintiff’s symptom testimony? 3. Did the ALJ err by not evaluating lay witness statements? 4. Did the ALJ err in determining plaintiff’s Residual Functional Capacity (“RFC”)? 5. Did the ALJ err in not reopening Plaintiff’s prior application and denying her request to cross-examine non-examining medical consultants? Plaintiff filed applications for DIB and SSI in 2016, which were denied on February 21, 2017. Administrative Record (“AR”) 42. Plaintiff filed new applications for DIB and SSI on November 9, 2018, alleging a disability onset date of December 1, 2015. Id.

Plaintiff’s applications were denied. Id. ALJ Malcolm Ross held a hearing on July 28, 2020. Id. at 102. On September 2, 2020, the ALJ issued a decision finding that Plaintiff was not disabled. AR 34-56. The Appeals Council denied Plaintiff’s request for review on November 19, 2020. AR 16-18. Plaintiff seeks judicial review of the ALJ’s September 2, 2020 decision. Dkt. 4. Pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 405(g), this Court may set aside the Commissioner's denial of Social Security benefits if the ALJ's findings are based on legal error or not supported by substantial evidence in the record as a whole. Revels v. Berryhill, 874 F.3d 648, 654 (9th Cir. 2017). Substantial evidence is “‘such relevant evidence as a

reasonable mind might accept as adequate to support a conclusion.’” Biestek v. Berryhill, 139 S. Ct. 1148, 1154 (2019) (internal citations omitted).

In this case, the ALJ found that Plaintiff had the severe, medically determinable impairments of seizure disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, major depressive disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. AR 45. Based on the limitations stemming from Plaintiff’s impairments, the ALJ found that Plaintiff could perform medium work. AR 48. Relying on vocational expert (“VE”) testimony, the ALJ found that Plaintiff could not perform her past work, but could perform other medium range jobs; therefore, the ALJ determined at step five of the sequential evaluation that Plaintiff was not disabled. AR 55-56. A. Whether the ALJ erred in evaluating the medical opinion evidence

Plaintiff alleges that the ALJ erred in evaluating medical opinion evidence Dr. Terilee Wingate, MD, Dr. Elaine Giniewicz, Ph. D, and Dr. Alyssa Ruddell, Ph.D. Under current Ninth Circuit precedent, an ALJ must provide “clear and convincing” reasons to reject the uncontradicted opinions of an examining doctor, and “specific and legitimate” reasons to reject the contradicted opinions of an examining doctor. See Lester v. Chater, 81 F.3d 821, 830–31 (9th Cir. 1995). The Social Security Administration changed the regulations applicable to evaluation of medical opinions; hierarchy among medical opinions has been eliminated, but ALJs are required to explain their reasoning and specifically address how they considered the supportability and consistency of each opinion. See 20 C.F.R. §

416.920c; Revisions to Rules Regarding the Evaluation of Medical Evidence, 82 Fed. Reg. 5844-01 (Jan. 18, 2017). Regardless whether a claim pre- or post-dates this change to the regulations, an ALJ’s reasoning must be supported by substantial evidence and free from legal error. Ford v. Saul, 950 F.3d 1141, 1153-56 (9th Cir. 2020) (citing Tommasetti v. Astrue, 533 F.3d 1035, 1038 (9th Cir. 2008)); see also Murray v. Heckler, 722 F.2d 499, 501–02 (9th Cir. 1983). Under 20 C.F.R. § 416.920c(a), (b)(1)-(2), the ALJ is required to explain whether the medical opinion or finding is persuasive, based on whether it is supported and

whether it is consistent. Brent S. v. Commissioner, Social Security Administration, No. 6:20-CV-00206-BR, 2021 WL 147256 at *5 - *6 (D. Oregon January 16, 2021). These are the two most important factors in the ALJ’s evaluation of medical opinions or findings; therefore, “[t]he ‘more relevant the objective medical evidence and

supporting explanations presented’ and the ‘more consistent’ with evidence from other sources, the more persuasive a medical opinion or prior finding.” Linda F. v. Saul, No. C20-5076-MAT, 2020 WL 6544628, at *2 (quoting 20 C.F.R. § 404.1520c(c)(1)-(2)). 1. Dr. Wingate Terilee Wingate PhD examined plaintiff on February 15, 2017. AR 400. After conducting a mental status examination, Dr. Wingate diagnosed Plaintiff with chronic PTSD, and severe, recurrent Major Depressive Disorder. AR. 402. She found that while Plaintiff was able to understand, remember and learn simple and some complex tasks, Plaintiff had poor stress tolerance. AR 403. Dr. Wingate found that Plaintiff may be able to work with a supervisor and a few coworkers in a quieter setting. Id.

The ALJ found that Dr. Wingate’s opinion was generally not persuasive. AR 52. First, the ALJ stated that Dr. Wingate’s opinion was based in part on Plaintiff’s self- reported history and symptoms. Id. Second, the ALJ stated that there were inconsistencies between the Plaintiff’s statements to Dr. Wingate and other statements of record. Id. For example, in terms of substance use, the Plaintiff reported to Dr. Wingate that she had used methamphetamines in 2010 and she attended substance abuse treatment and had not used since. However, at other times, the Plaintiff reported that she last used drugs in November 2017. Id. As another example, the ALJ pointed out that Plaintiff told Dr. Wingate that she had seizures when she was stressed, but the

record indicated that Plaintiff’s seizures were well controlled. AR 53. The record as a whole, according to the ALJ, indicated that plaintiff’s mental symptoms improved significantly with mental health treatment during the period at issue, which is inconsistent with Dr. Wingate’s opinion. Id.

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