Disability Insurance Benefits

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7^th Circuit Court of Appeals

Case Name: Kathy Start v. Carolyn

Case No.: 15-2352

Officials: MANION, KANNE, and WILLIAMS, Circuit Judges.

Focus: Disability Insurance Benefits

Court applies faulty credibility analysis in appellant disability benefits proceeding.

“We agree with Stark that the ALJ’s finding that Stark’s own testimony supports the residual-functional-capacity assessment is patently wrong. The ALJ inexplicably failed to consider objective evidence that buttressed Stark’s testimony of disabling pain. This evidence included the nature of Stark’s diagnoses of radiculopathy and degenerative disc disease, evidence of prescriptions for strong pain medications, epidural injections, multiple surgeries, and physical therapy. The ALJ cursorily mentioned Stark’s treatments, but she did not consider how the treatments relieved Stark’s pain. See 20 C.F.R. § 404.1529(c)(3)(v), (vi) (factors relevant to severity of pain include treatment for pain relief and other measures to relieve pain, like lying flat on the back). Nor did the ALJ consider the conclusion of Stark’s treating physician that she always will have neuropathic leg pain, which could account for her complaints of pain, or her degenerative disc disease, which could account for her pain progressively worsening. Even if the ALJ thought that the objective evidence was insufficient, pain alone can be disabling, Carradine v. Barnhart, 360 F.3d 751, 753 (7th Cir. 2004), and Stark testified that she is limited by her pain. Testimony of severe pain cannot be disregarded simply because it is not supported by objective medical evidence. See Hall v. Colvin, 778 F.3d 688, 691 (7th Cir. 2015); Pierce v. Colvin, 739 F.3d 1046, 1049–50 (7th Cir. 2014) (“Pain can be severe to the point of being disabling even though no physical cause can be identified …”).”

Reversed and Remanded

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Attorney Derek A. Hawkins is the managing partner at Hawkins Law Offices LLC, where he heads up the firm’s startup law practice. He specializes in business formation, corporate governance, intellectual property protection, private equity and venture capital funding and mergers & acquisitions. Check out the website at www.hawkins-lawoffices.com or contact them at 262-737-8825.