S.C. Lawyer Can Collect Attorney’s Fees

Treating Physician Opinion Was ‘Inconsistent’

By Deborah Elkins
Published: March 20, 2013
Tags: Judge John A. Gibney Jr., Social Security, U.S. District Court - Eastern District

A Richmond U.S. District Court adopts the magistrate judge’s report and affirms denial of benefits over claimant’s objection that the administrative law judge erred by assigning the treating physician’s opinion “little weight”; the court finds that substantial evidence supports the ALJ’s decision due to the physician’s inconsistent statements and lack of record support for her [...]

VA Disability Rating Gets ‘Substantial’ Weight

By Deborah Elkins
Published: November 19, 2012
Tags: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, Judge Barbara Milano Keenan, Social Security

A claimant who suffered post-traumatic stress disorder due to his combat experience in Vietnam gets another chance to win social security disability benefits, as the 4th Circuit says the administrative law judge erred by failing to give retrospective consideration to medical evidence created after claimant’s “date of last insurance” to qualify for benefits and did [...]

Lupus Sufferer Wins Remand for SSI

By Deborah Elkins
Published: October 25, 2012
Tags: Judge James P. Jones, Social Security, U.S. District Court - Western District

A 36-year-old woman with an 8th-grade education and no past work experience, who suffers from lupus, wins a remand for an award of supplemental security income benefits; the ALJ’s denial of benefits is not supported by substantial evidence, as the IME’s finding that claimant did not suffer from lupus contradicted the opinions of claimant’s treating [...]

Benefits Recommended for Lupus Sufferer

By Deborah Elkins
Published: September 10, 2012
Tags: Judge Pamela Meade Sargent, Social Security, U.S. District Court - Western District

An ALJ’s denial of social security benefits is not supported by substantial evidence that claimant did not meet or equal the impairment listing for lupus under federal social security regulations, reports the Abingdon U.S. District Court Magistrate Judge, and she recommends the denial be vacated and the case remanded for an award of benefits. The [...]

Richmond ALJ hearing Social Security claims has one of the highest denial rates in the country

By Virginia Lawyers Weekly
Published: May 14, 2012
Tags: Administrative Law Judges, Social Security

As an occupational therapist, Michelle Bomar worked with people suffering from injuries or diseases. But in 1998, she said, she found herself in as much distress as any patient: A slew of illnesses had started attacking her immune system, causing intense pain and fatigue. Bomar said she couldn’t work. So she quit her job as [...]

ALJ Can Reject Sole IQ Test

By Deborah Elkins
Published: January 12, 2012
Tags: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, Judge William B. Traxler Jr., Social Security

An administrative law judge can reject findings that a claimant is mentally retarded even if there is only one set of test scores in the record; the 4th Circuit joins the majority of federal appeals courts in this view, and upholds the ALJ’s rejection of this claimant’s application for supplemental security income benefits, in light [...]

Disability Benefits Claim Remanded

By Deborah Elkins
Published: December 13, 2011
Tags: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, Judge Diana Gribbon Motz, Social Security

A claimant who suffered back, wrist and shoulder injuries when he fell 25 feet from a deer stand has his claim for social security disability benefits remanded to the Appeals Council because the 4th Circuit cannot determine from the record if substantial evidence supports the denial of benefits. The administrative law judge (ALJ) concluded claimant [...]

Reconsideration for Claimant’s Mental Retardation

By Deborah Elkins
Published: November 28, 2011
Tags: Judge Pamela Meade Sargent, Social Security, U.S. District Court - Western District

A Big Stone Gap U.S. District Court Magistrate Judge recommends denial of summary judgment to claimant and the SSA on claimant’s application for disability insurance benefits, and recommends the commissioner’s denial of DIB be vacated and the case remanded for further consideration as substantial evidence does not support the finding that claimant is not disabled [...]

ALJ Dismissed Treating Doc, Court Says

By Deborah Elkins
Published: November 3, 2011
Tags: Judge Michael F. Urbanski, Social Security, U.S. District Court - Western District

A Roanoke U.S. District Court says an administrative law judge did not give proper consideration to the opinions of claimant’s treating physicians, and the denial of an award is reversed and the case remanded for calculation of benefits for a 36-year-old certified nursing assistant who suffers from degenerative disc disease and chronic low back pain. [...]