Justia Public Benefits Opinion Summaries

Stark worked at GM for over 10 years as a yard driver. Her back pain started in 2000, when she underwent her first of three surgeries. She has been diagnosed with degenerative disc disease, nerve root irritation, moderate-to-severe spinal stenosis, and possible radiculopathy. Stark underwent numerous nonsurgical treatments for pain, including epidural spinal injections and a nerve root block, with a regimen of Neurontin, Darvocet, Celebrex, Oxycocone, Avinza, physical exercises, and physical therapy. Stark’s pain control was “fair-to-poor.” She stopped working in 2009. A doctor assessed that Stark could do light physical demand activities based on her full range of motion and ability to squat, kneel, and walk. A medical consultant estimated that Stark occasionally could lift or carry 20 pounds and sit for about 6 hours in an 8-hour day. At a 2012 hearing, Stark testified to a “tremendous amount of pain every day.” She could no longer take narcotic pain relievers because of a hepatitis C diagnosis. An ALJ denied benefits, finding that “the objective evidence does not substantiate the extreme symptoms and limitations to which she testified” and that her testimony regarding daily activities “demonstrates a level of daily function not inconsistent with light work activity.” The Seventh Circuit reversed, finding the credibility analysis flawed. View "Stark v. Colvin" on Justia Law

Plaintiff appealed the denial of disability benefits under Title II of the Social Security Act, 42 U.S.C. 401 et seq., and supplemental security income benefits under Title XVI of the Act, 42 U.S.C. 1381 et seq. The court concluded that the errors identified by plaintiff show the ALJ failed to consider Mental Impairment Listing 12.07 Somatoform Disorders (including Conversion Disorder) when assessing her residual functional capacity; the ALJ failed to evaluate fully the vocational expert's testimony; the testimony of plaintiff's sister-in-law reflects on the severity of plaintiff's impairments and the ALJ's failure to address this testimony was not harmless nor an arguable deficiency in opinion-writing technique; and the ALJ erred by disregarding the opinion of plaintiff's treating physician and improperly accorded great weight to statements in the physician's treatment notes indicating that plaintiff demonstrated improvement without acknowledging that plaintiff's symptoms waxed and waned throughout the substantial period of treatment. Accordingly, the court remanded with instructions. View "Nowling v. Colvin" on Justia Law

Plaintiff’s 1998 dislocation of a kneecap required implantation of a steel plate; a year later a shattered femur required implantation of a steel rod from hip to knee. In 2011, he fractured an ankle. A podiatrist inserted a bar with pins in the ankle and later repeated the procedure. Months later, plaintiff’s ankle pain returned and he was prescribed Vicodin and Percocet, providing limited relief. Two treating physicians reported that he could sit, stand, and walk for only 15 minutes at a time and for no more than one hour in an eight-hour work day; that he could lift a weight of 10-20 pounds only occasionally; and that he could not reach up with his right arm at all. One reported that plaintiff was “fully and completely disabled” with constant and worsening pain that caused constipation, drowsiness, and upset stomach, with a “poor” prognosis. An ALJ denied social security disability benefits, noting that the medical records varied from the reports and finding that plaintiff’s injuries were severe, but he could perform unskilled sedentary jobs. The Seventh Circuit reversed. The question was not whether plaintiff was less disabled than he was four years ago, but whether he was sufficiently recovered to hold down a 40-hour-a-week job; the ALJ did not adequately explain what jobs plaintiff might be capable of. View "Forsythe v. Colvin" on Justia Law

Morris worked as a coal miner for nearly 35 years, 19 years underground. Morris’s breathing difficulties caused him to leave work. In 2006, Dr. Cohen diagnosed him with pneumoconiosis (black lung disease). Eighty Four Mining’s physician also examined Morris, but determined that Morris’s breathing difficulties were caused by smoking and that there was no radiographic evidence of pneumoconiosis. In 2008, aPennsylvania Workers’ Compensation Judge denied benefits. Morris did not appeal. Morris’s breathing problems worsened; a doctor put him on oxygen nearly full-time. In 2011, Morris sought Black Lung Benefits Act (BLBA), 30 U.S.C. 901, benefits. He did not rely upon the 2006 report that had been discredited, but on a 2011 arterial blood gas study and pulmonary function testing that supported a finding of black lung disease. In 2013, an ALJ granted BLBA benefits, rejecting a timeliness challenge and reasoning that a denial of black lung benefits due to the repudiation of the claimant’s pneumoconiosis diagnosis renders that diagnosis a “misdiagnosis” and resets the three-year limitations period for subsequent claims. Morris sufficiently established the existence of pneumoconiosis through medical evidence obtained after 2010 and Eighty Four failed to adequately explain why Morris’s years of coal dust exposure were not a substantial cause of his impairment. The Benefits Review Board affirmed, citing judicial estoppel as precluding the timeliness argument. The Third Circuit denied a petition for review. View "Eighty Four Mining Co. v. Morris" on Justia Law

Stage slipped two discs while working in a factory in 1985. She continued working. Her pain became more severe. By 2007, she had been diagnosed with arthritis in her back, hips, left leg, and shoulders; spinal degeneration; a tear in a disc joint; and mild degenerative disc disease. Stage is 5’6” tall and weighed over 200 pounds and also suffered from hyperlipidemia, hypertension, and hypothyroidism, which made her obesity difficult to control. Stage applied for benefits, claiming that debilitating back and hip pain rendered her unable to work after October 2009. Her last job was general kitchen work at a residential‐care facility. She had previously worked as a cook, bartender, and factory laborer. The district court upheld denial of her application for supplemental security income, disability insurance benefits, and disabled widow’s benefits. Stage was then 56 years old. The Seventh Circuit reversed, finding that the ALJ discounted significant new evidence submitted after an agency doctor reviewed Stage's medical records, gave little weight to her treating physician’s opinion, discredited her testimony about pain without adequate support, and overstated her residual functional capacity. The ALJ’s evaluation of her medical evidence was unreasonable; substantial evidence did not support his finding that she remained capable of performing light work. View "Stage v. Colvin" on Justia Law

Cadillac Place (former General Motors Building), a Detroit office complex, is home to state offices, a court of appeals, a restaurant, a gift store, and even a barber shop. It is owned by Michigan Strategic Fund, a public entity, and leased by the state. Babcock, an attorney, s disabled due to Friedreich’s Ataxia, a degenerative neuromuscular disorder that impairs her ability to walk. She worked in Cadillac Place. Babcock alleged that its design features denied her equal access to her place of employment in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act , 42 U.S.C. 12132, and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, 29 U.S.C. 794(a). The Sixth Circuit affirmed dismissal. Babcock did not identify a service, program, or activity of a public entity from which she was excluded or denied a benefit. The court noted the dispositive distinction between access to a facility and access to programs or activities. Babcock only identified facilities-related issues. View "Babcock v. State of Mich." on Justia Law

Plaintiff appealed the denial of her application for Social Security disability insurance benefits and supplemental security income. The court concluded that substantial evidence supported the ALJ’s finding that plaintiff did not meet the requirements for mental retardation in Listing 12.05C; that the ALJ characterized plaintiff's impairment as mild mental retardation at step two did not preclude the ALJ on this record from finding at step three that plaintiff did not exhibit deficits in adaptive functioning; and therefore, the court affirmed the judgment. View "Ash v. Colvin" on Justia Law

Plaintiff was employed by American since 1988. On January 1, 2012, while working as a tower planner at O’Hare, plaintiff received a call from a friend at another airline, asking plaintiff to do something for a passenger who was scheduled to fly on American. Plaintiff requested that the catering department deliver a bottle of champagne and asked a flight attendant whether it would be possible to upgrade the passenger. The passenger was upgraded to first class. Plaintiff's employment was terminated because she upgraded the passenger and requested the champagne without proper authorization. American cited employee policies concerning dishonesty. Plaintiff applied for unemployment insurance benefits with the Department of Employment Security. American protested, alleging that plaintiff was ineligible because she was “discharged for misconduct connected with [her] work,” under the Unemployment Insurance Act, 820 ILCS 405/602(A). Following a hearing, a Department referee denied plaintiff’s application. The Board of Review affirmed. The circuit court reversed, finding that the actions which led to plaintiff’s discharge did not constitute “misconduct” under the strict statutory definition. The appellate court reversed. The Illinois Supreme Court reinstated the circuit court decision, finding no illegal or intentionally tortious conduct, nor evidence of a deliberate rule violation. View "Petrovic v. Dep't of Emp't Sec." on Justia Law

Plaintiff appealed the denial of social security disability benefits and supplemental security income. The ALJ provided valid reasons for discounting plaintiff's subjective complaints and the court held that the ALJ's less-than-fully credible determination is supported by substantial evidence; the ALJ's residual functioning capacity (RFC) is supported by substantial evidence; and the ALJ gave proper weight to plaintiff's treating physicians where the opinions were not supported by the record as a whole. Accordingly, the court affirmed the denial of benefits. View "Chaney v. Colvin" on Justia Law

Miller is a single father who, before his alleged disability, held positions as a security guard, machine operator, material handler, and night-club bouncer. In 2006, Miller visited a hospital emergency department with an injured knee. He did not return to work but applied for disability insurance benefits, and supplemental security income. On remand from the Appeals Council, an ALJ determined that Miller was not disabled within the meaning of the Social Security Act and did not qualify for benefits. The Appeals Council declined another review. The district court granted summary judgment, affirming the denial of benefits. Miller’s timely appeal followed. The Sixth Circuit vacated, finding the decision not supported by substantial evidence. A determination concerning Miller’s residual functional capacity (particularly his ability to stand) did not comport with the ALJ’s determination that a doctor’s assessment should be accorded significant weight; the limited discussion of Miller’s obesity arguably did not comply with SSR 02- 1p; the ALJ’s focus on isolated, often stale, portions of the record was an insufficient basis to determine that Miller could conduct work activities on a sustained basis, especially in light of the Appeals Council’s original decision to remand for failure to adequately evaluate Miller’s mental impairments. View "Miller v. Comm'r of Social Sec." on Justia Law