Opinion ID: 2778696
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Credibility and RFC

Text: Finally, we address an issue not addressed by the district court, but raised by Curvin on appeal. She contends that the ALJ’s RFC and credibility determinations were legally insufficient. As we stated previously, when determining Curvin’s RFC, the ALJ discussed her severe and non-severe impairments, the objective medical evidence, her symptoms, and her credibility. The ALJ’s discussion was similar in all pertinent respects to the RFC discussion in Pepper, which we found to be adequate. See Pepper, 712 F.3d at 362–67. Although the ALJ gave great weight to Curvin’s treating ophthalmologist’s assessment that her only work-related limitation was that she could not work around machinery, none of the opinions of her treating or examining physicians supported her claim for disability. This meant that her claim of disability rested mainly on her allegations concerning her symptoms, and thus her credibility. This makes her burden difficult. So long as an ALJ gives specific reasons supported by the record, we will not overturn his credibility determination unless it is patently wrong. Pepper, 712 F.3d at 367. “Credibility determinations can rarely be disturbed by a reviewing court, lacking as it does the opportunity to observe the claimant testifying.”Sims v. No. 13-3622 11 Barnhart, 442 F.3d 536, 538 (7th Cir. 2006). Here, the ALJ discussed various inconsistencies between Curvin’s alleged symptoms and the other evidence. For example, the eye exam performed by her treating physician did not support her allegations of vision loss in both eyes. Additionally, her testimony that her sleeping disorder prevented her from working was inconsistent with her testimony that she worked for many years with the disorder and that medication kept it under control. The ALJ’s credibility determination was not patently wrong, and he provided specific reasons supported by the record, so we will not overturn it. See Pepper, 712 F.3d at 367.