Brown v. Colvin

Plaintiff appealed the denial of his application for disability insurance benefits, alleging disability beginning in November 2011 due to severe hearing loss, diabetes, diabetic neuropathy, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, degenerative disc disease of the lumbar spine, and severe diarrhea caused by medication side effects. The court reversed and remanded, finding that the ALJ did not mention, much less resolve, the seemingly inconsistent results obtained from plaintiff's two hearing tests. Nor did the ALJ adequately explain why he apparently elected to place greater weight on the results from the April 2012 hearing test rather than the results from the February 2012 hearing test. Neither test was deemed to be altogether reliable. This factor, coupled with the ALJ’s failure to accurately describe the medical evidence in the record and his failure to identify or analyze the relevant Listing, lead the court to determine that the ALJ's finding was not supported by substantial evidence. View "Brown v. Colvin" on Justia Law