Hensley v. Colvin

After plaintiff suffered a serious knee injury while deployed by the Army in Iraq combat, he underwent surgery and the VA awarded him benefits for service-connected disability. Plaintiff then applied for Social Security disability insurance benefits for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), back pain, right knee pain, and facial twitching. On appeal, plaintiff challenged the denial of disability benefits. The court concluded that substantial evidence on the administrative record supports the ALJ's conclusion that defendant retained the residual functioning capacity (RFC) to perform certain sedentary work during the relevant period at issue; the ALJ could reasonably conclude that plaintiff's repeated failure to attend a prescribed course of treatment was evidence that his mental impairment was less disabling than defendant claimed; and the ALJ explicitly acknowledged the VA’s disability finding, and correctly noted that the disability finding of another agency like the VA was not binding on the Social Security Administration. Accordingly, the court affirmed the judgment. View "Hensley v. Colvin" on Justia Law