Alicia Madrigal Barraza v. Commissioner of Social Security

Summary

The United States District Court for the Eastern District of California adopted the magistrate judge’s findings and recommendations in an action seeking review of the denial of disability insurance benefits and supplemental security income. The court denied Plaintiff Alicia Madrigal Barraza’s motion for summary judgment and granted the Commissioner’s request to affirm, concluding that any step-two error was harmless and that challenges concerning development of the mental-health record were waived or unsupported. The court directed entry of judgment for the Commissioner and closure of the case.

Holdings

1. A represented claimant must raise issues and evidence during the administrative proceedings to preserve them for judicial review. Because plaintiff did not raise the need for a consultative mental examination before the ALJ, she waived that challenge.
2. Plaintiff failed to establish that the record was inadequate or ambiguous, and therefore failed to show that the ALJ had a duty to develop the record further or obtain a consultative mental examination.
3. Any assumed error in finding plaintiff's hiatal hernia and bilateral foot impairments non-severe at step two was harmless and did not warrant remand because the ALJ considered those impairments and their resulting limitations at later stages of the sequential evaluation, including in determining residual functional capacity.

Questions Presented

1. Whether any error by the ALJ in finding plaintiff's hiatal hernia and bilateral foot impairments non-severe at step two required remand.
2. Whether plaintiff waived her argument that the ALJ was required to obtain a consultative mental examination or otherwise develop the record by failing to raise the issue during the administrative proceedings.
3. Whether the record was inadequate or ambiguous such that the ALJ had a duty to develop it further concerning plaintiff's mental impairments.
4. Whether the magistrate judge's findings and recommendations should be adopted and the administrative decision affirmed.

Disposition

affirmed