Opinion ID: 3003116
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Ziegler’s Mental Condition

Text: Next, Ziegler moves to his mental condition and contests the ALJ’s finding that he does not suffer from severe mental limitations. Although Dr. Bohon concluded that Ziegler’s panic disorder prevented him from working, the ALJ refused to credit his report, instead relying on the report of Dr. Bauer, the state‐agency therapist, who concluded that Ziegler does not have a severe mental impairment. Ziegler asserts that the ALJ should not have relied on Dr. Bauer’s opinion because, in contrast to the opinion of Dr. Bohon, it was No. 08‐3914 Page 8 not based on an in‐person examination and because it did not take Dr. Bohon’s opinion into account. First, Ziegler is correct that the opinion of an “examining physician” is entitled to greater weight, see 20 C.F.R. § 404.1527(d)(1), but the ALJ was entitled to give Dr. Bohon’s opinion less weight because it was based only on Ziegler’s self‐reported symptoms. See Ketelboeter, 550 F.3d at 625. Even though a psychiatrist’s examination will often involve little more than analyzing self‐reported symptoms, Dr. Bohon’s report does not show much analysis and was prepared after only one meeting with Ziegler. Although it says that Ziegler cannot function at work, in the space for a prognosis, it reads, “Unknown; I just met him.” At another point in the report, Dr. Bohon wrote, “I don’t know him well enough to explain further.” Given the inconclusiveness of the report and the other record evidence that contradicts its conclusion, the ALJ’s finding is supported by substantial evidence. See Berger v. Astrue, 516 F.3d 539, 544‐45 (7th Cir. 2008).