Degenerative Disc Disease of the Cervical Spine, Psoriatic Arthrophathy & a Generalized Anxiety Disorder.

The court found that “the [Administrative Law Judge’s] reasoning fails to provide the necessary specific and legitimate reasons, supported by the record, for rejecting [a treating physician’s] opinion.

A large part of the ALJ’s decision was based on a purported internal inconsistency in the doctor’s opinion.  But the court found that the doctor had made “nothing more than a simple mistake” in filling out a questionnaire.

Citing Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals precedent, the court found that:  “Where an ALJ provides legally insufficient reasons for rejecting medical opinion, that opinion is treated as true.”  Harmen v. Apfel, 211 F.3d 1172, 1179 (9th Cir. 2000). In this case, the doctor’s opinion established disability.

The court held that there were no further factual issues to be resolved and remanded the case for an award of benefits.

COMMENT

This decision was based on Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals precedent.  See the article below, just above the copyright line, regarding precedent.

Here the court upheld the treating physician rule.

Fiorucci v. Commissioner of Social Security, No. 6:12-cv-2227-TC (D. Ore. Jan. 29, 2014).

http://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=12893778172930106194&q=social+security&hl=en&as_sdt=40000003&as_ylo=2014