Source: http://in.findacase.com/research/wfrmDocViewer.aspx/xq/fac.20140807_0001152.SIN.htm/qx
Timestamp: 2018-02-22 09:13:40
Document Index: 547630667

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 636', '§ 405', '§ 423', '§ 1382', '§ 423', '§ 404', '§ 404', 'art 404', 'art, 309']

KENNETH M. PEARSON, JR., Plaintiff,
This matter was referred to the Magistrate Judge under 28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(1)(B) and Fed.R.Civ.P. 72(b) for a report and recommendation as to its appropriate disposition. (Dkt. 13) As addressed below, the Magistrate Judge recommends that the District Court REVERSE AND REMAND the decision of the Commissioner of the Social Security Administration that plaintiff Kenneth M. Pearson, Jr. is not disabled.
Plaintiff Kenneth M. Pearson, Jr. applied in April 2010 for Disability Insurance Benefits (DIB) and Supplemental Security Income disability benefits (SSI) under Titles II and XVI, respectively, of the Social Security Act. Acting for the Commissioner of the Social Security Administration following a hearing on January 9, 2012, an administrative law judge ("ALJ") found that Mr. Pearson is not disabled. The Appeals Council denied review of the ALJ's decision, rendering the ALJ's decision for the Commissioner final. Mr. Pearson filed this civil action under 42 U.S.C. § 405(g) for review of the Commissioner's decision.
Mr. Pearson asserts one error in the Commissioner's decision. He contends that the ALJ failed properly to incorporate into his residual functional capacity determination (RFC) and his hypothetical to the vocational expert any functional limitations tied to Mr. Pearson's moderate difficulties in sustaining concentration, persistence, or pace.
To prove disability, a claimant must show that he is unable to "engage in any substantial gainful activity by reason of any medically determinable physical or mental impairment which can be expected to result in death or which has lasted or can be expected to last for a continuous period of not less than twelve months." 42 U.S.C. § 423(d)(1)(A) (DIB benefits); 42 U.S.C. § 1382c(a)(3)(A) (SSI benefits).[1] Mr. Pearson is disabled if his impairments are of such severity that he is not able to perform the work he previously engaged in and, if based on his age, education, and work experience, he cannot engage in any other kind of substantial gainful work that exists in significant numbers in the national economy. 42 U.S.C. § 423(d)(2)(A). The Social Security Administration ("SSA") has implemented these statutory standards by, in part, prescribing a five-step sequential evaluation process for determining disability. 20 C.F.R. § 404.1520.
Step one asks if the claimant is currently engaged in substantial gainful activity; if he is, then he is not disabled. Step two asks whether the claimant's impairments, singly or in combination, are severe; if they are not, then he is not disabled. A severe impairment is one that "significantly limits [a claimant's] physical or mental ability to do basic work activities." 20 C.F.R. § 404.1520(c). The third step is an analysis of whether the claimant's impairments, either singly or in combination, meet or equal the criteria of any of the conditions in the Listing of Impairments, 20 C.F.R. Part 404, Subpart P, Appendix 1. The Listing of Impairments includes medical conditions defined by criteria that the SSA has pre-determined are disabling, so that if a claimant meets all of the criteria for a listed impairment or presents medical findings equal in severity to all the criteria for the most similar listed impairment, then the claimant is presumptively disabled and qualifies for benefits. Sims v. Barnhart, 309 F.3d 424, 428 (7th Cir. 2002).
I. The ALJ's Sequential ...