Vivian C. v. Martin O'Malley, Commissioner of Social Security

Summary

The United States District Court for the Southern District of California grants Plaintiff Vivian C.’s motion for summary judgment in an action seeking review of the denial of disability insurance benefits. The court concludes that the administrative law judge’s decision was not supported by substantial evidence and remands the case for an immediate award of benefits. The order discusses the claimant’s history of left upper-extremity, shoulder, neck, and wrist impairments and the administrative proceedings leading to judicial review.

Holdings

1. The ALJ erred by failing to provide specific and legitimate reasons supported by substantial evidence for discounting the treating physicians' opinions, including by failing to address the Kaiser Permanente treating records and the July 23, 2008 functional assessment imposing more restrictive left-hand limitations.
2. The ALJ failed to provide specific, clear, and convincing reasons for rejecting Plaintiff's subjective testimony concerning the severity and limiting effects of her symptoms.
3. Remand for an immediate award of benefits was warranted because the record was fully developed, the ALJ failed to provide legally sufficient reasons for rejecting medical opinion and symptom evidence, and crediting the improperly rejected evidence as true would require a finding of disability.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the ALJ provided legally sufficient, specific and legitimate reasons supported by substantial evidence for discounting the opinions of Plaintiff's treating physicians.
2. Whether the ALJ provided specific, clear, and convincing reasons for discounting Plaintiff's subjective symptom testimony.
3. Whether the case should be remanded for further administrative proceedings or for an immediate award of benefits under the credit-as-true rule.

Disposition

reversed_and_remanded