Court Error – Sufficiency of Testimony

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7^th Circuit Court of Appeals

Case Name: Joshua Ray Lanigan v. Nancy A. Berryhill, Acting Commissioner of Social Security

Case No.: 16-2894

Officials: WOOD, Chief Judge, and RIPPLE and SYKES, Circuit Judges.

Focus: Court Error – Sufficiency of Testimony

Joshua Lanigan injured his back at his job in 2009. That same year he hurt his neck in a car accident, and in 2011 he was diagnosed with diabetes. Since then his medical impairments have been complicated by mental illness. Lanigan applied for Supplemental Security Income and Disability Insurance Benefits in March 2012 when he was 38 years old. An Administrative Law Judge (“ALJ”) found his physical and mental impairments to be severe but not disabling and denied benefits. The Appeals Council denied review, and the district court upheld the ALJ’s decision. See 42 U.S.C. § 405(g). We conclude that the case must be returned to the agency for further proceedings because the ALJ misinformed a vocational expert about Lanigan’s residual functional capacity, thus undermining the expert’s testimony that Lanigan could engage in competitive employment.

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.