Opinion ID: 3004583
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Minnick’s Credibility

Text: In reaching her RFC determination, the ALJ discredited Minnick’s testimony using the type of boilerplate language that we have consistently criticized, see, e.g., Roddy, 705 F.3d at 635; Filus v. Astrue, 694 F.3d 863, 868 (7th Cir. 2012); Bjornson v. Astrue, 671 F.3d 640, 644–45 (7th Cir. 2012), stating that although his impairments “could reasonably be expected to cause some of his alleged symptoms … the claimant’s statements concerning the intensity, persistence and limiting effects of these symptoms are not credible to the extent they are inconsistent with the above residual functional capacity assessment.” By itself, “[s]uch boilerplate language fails to 14 No. 13-3626 inform us in a meaningful, reviewable way of the specific evidence the ALJ considered in determining that claimant’s complaints were not credible.” Bjornson, 671 F.3d at 645. Although the ALJ did provide some explanation in support of this boilerplate language, we remain unpersuaded that substantial evidence supports her conclusion in light of the record as a whole. In support of her conclusion, the ALJ first remarked that Minnick’s low back pain was attributed to deconditioning, obesity, and resumption of tree trimming work, rather than his allegedly disabling impairments. This attribution presumably refers to the only instance in which tree trimming work is mentioned in the record: a January 2009 assessment by Dr. Harvey. It does not account for the record of pain, corroborated by a number of doctors, that continues from 2008 into 2011. The ALJ also focused on Minnick’s testimony that he could “sit for 30 minutes at the most,” yet sat for over 40 minutes during the hearing, and for a full hour before a consultative examiner. However, at least one doctor of record opined that he “could have caught Minnick on a good day.” So, too, could the ALJ and the consultative examiner. Moreover, Minnick’s full testimony was that he could probably sit for 30 minutes at the most, suggesting at least the possibility of longer stretches without issue. Finally, Minnick’s ability to sit without exhibiting pain-related behaviors at the hearing does not undo the consistent record of pain-related behaviors exhibited before nearly every one of Minnick’s treating physicians. Finally, and perhaps most critically, the ALJ never mentioned two studies in the record that indicated Minnick’s herniated discs were affecting his nerve roots. Nerve root No. 13-3626 15 contact provides an objective medical explanation for at least some of his pain and weakness. In Clifford v. Apfel, 227 F.3d 863 (7th Cir. 2000), the ALJ did not find the claimant’s testimony credible because it was contradicted by her daily activities and the medical evidence of record. We reversed the ALJ’s credibility determination, however, explaining that “the ALJ must consider a claimant’s subjective complaint of pain if supported by medical signs and findings.” Id. at 871. Though an ALJ’s credibility determination may only be overturned if it is “patently wrong,” Craft v. Astrue, 539 F.3d 668, 678 (7th Cir. 2008), a failure to adequately explain his or her credibility finding by discussing specific reasons supported by the record is grounds for reversal. Terry v. Astrue, 580 F.3d 471, 477 (7th Cir. 2009); Bjornson, 671 F.3d at 649. Here, the ALJ did not provide a reason for omitting from her analysis the objective medical evidence in the record supporting Minnick’s subjective complaints. Without a logical bridge between the evidence and the ALJ’s conclusion, we lack a sufficient basis upon which to uphold the ALJ’s determination of Minnick’s credibility.