Opinion ID: 2765947
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Dr. Riley’s Assessment

Text: Dr. Riley, Claimant’s treating physician, found that Claimant experienced headaches on a regular basis that “seriously affect[ed]” her ability to function. All other treating and examining doctors concluded that Claimant could perform medium exertion work with only minor limitations. The ALJ adopted the consensus view and rejected Dr. Riley’s view. Claimant argues that the ALJ erred. As noted, because Dr. Riley’s opinion was contradicted, we review the ALJ’s rejection of Dr. Riley’s opinion for “specific and legitimate reasons that are 14 BURRELL V. COLVIN supported by substantial evidence.” Bayliss, 427 F.3d at 1216. The ALJ gave two related reasons for rejecting Dr. Riley’s assessment. The ALJ reasoned that Dr. Riley’s opinions “are quite conclusory, providing very little explanation of the evidence relied on in forming that opinion.” The ALJ also opined that Dr. Riley’s conclusions were contrary to the medical evidence and to Dr. Riley’s own treatment notes. “[A]n ALJ may discredit treating physicians’ opinions that are conclusory, brief, and unsupported by the record as a whole or by objective medical findings.” Batson v. Comm’r of Soc. Sec. Admin., 359 F.3d 1190, 1195 (9th Cir. 2004) (emphasis added) (citation omitted). Indeed, Dr. Riley’s assessments are of the “check-box” form and contain almost no detail or explanation. But the record supports Dr. Riley’s opinions because they are consistent both with Claimant’s testimony at the hearing and with Dr. Riley’s own extensive treatment notes which, as discussed above, the ALJ largely overlooked. The ALJ clearly erred in his assessment of the medical evidence, overlooking nearly a dozen reports related to head, neck, and back pain. The government offers a third reason: It was proper for the ALJ to reject Dr. Riley’s assessment because Dr. Riley relied primarily on Claimant’s own subjective reports. “An ALJ may reject a treating physician’s opinion if it is based to a large extent on a claimant’s self-reports that have been properly discounted as incredible.” Tommasetti v. Astrue, 533 F.3d 1035, 1041 (9th Cir. 2008) (internal quotation marks omitted). The government’s argument fails for two independent reasons. First, the ALJ never gave this reason BURRELL V. COLVIN 15 for rejecting Dr. Riley’s opinion. We reiterate that we “are constrained to review the reasons the ALJ asserts.” Connett, 340 F.3d at 874. Second, as noted above, the ALJ failed to give specific, clear, and convincing reasons for discrediting Claimant’s testimony. Because the ALJ did not “properly discount[]” Claimant’s testimony, this reason fails. Tommasetti, 533 F.3d at 1041 (emphasis added). We conclude that, in rejecting Dr. Riley’s assessment, the ALJ did not give specific and legitimate reasons supported by substantial evidence.