Opinion ID: 3012754
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The ALJ Denied Newell’s Claim At Step Two on

Text: Erroneous Bases According to ALJ Ryan, the objective medical evidence in Newell’s record did not support her allegation of disability and thus he denied her claim at step two of the sequential evaluation. It is true that her record lacks evidence of treatment for liver disease, diabetes, or neuropathy prior to August 31, 1997. Nonetheless, this lack of evidence in the particular circumstances of this case did not provide an adequate basis to support a conclusion that Newell was not disabled prior to August 31, 1997. We note that several courts have questioned the relevance of infrequent medical visits in determining when or whether a claimant is disabled. For example, the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has held that the fact that a “claimant may be one of the millions of people who did not seek treatment for a mental disorder until late in the day” was not a substantial basis to reject that an impairment existed. Nguyen v. Chater, 100 F.3d 1462, 1465 (9th Cir. 1996). In fact, SSR 96-7p, 1996 SSR LEXIS 4, at , states that “the adjudicator must not draw any inferences about an individual’s symptoms and their functional effects from a failure to seek or pursue regular medical treatment without first considering any explanations that the individual may provide, or other information in the case record, that may explain infrequent or irregular medical visits or failure to seek medical treatment.” Here, Newell’s explanation for her failure to seek treatment prior to August 31, 1997, is adequate — she claims she could not afford treatment until her father gave her money in June 1998. Moreover, the record demonstrates that her income during the germane period was very low and that she did not have medical insurance, circumstances that support her claim that she could not afford treatment. Accordingly, we disagree with the ALJ’s statement that “[i]t is reasonable to assume that if [Newell] was experiencing the degree of pain and functional limitation which she has alleged that she would have sought medical treatment.” Tr. 16. It is Newell’s position that her liver disease, diabetes, and neuropathy are slowly progressing conditions that existed well before their documentation in 1998. She argues that 12 her medical record must be studied retrospectively to determine when her medical conditions actually became disabling. Retrospective diagnosis of an impairment, even if uncorroborated by contemporaneous medical records, but corroborated by lay evidence relating back to the claimed period of disability, can support a finding of past impairment. See Loza v. Apfel, 219 F.3d 378, 396 (5th Cir. 2000); Likes v. Callahan, 112 F.3d 189, 191 (5th Cir. 1997). Thus, even non-contemporaneous records of Newell’s liver disease, diabetes, and neuropathy are relevant to the determination of whether their onset occurred by the date Newell alleges. See Ivy v. Sullivan, 898 F.2d 1045, 1049 (5th Cir. 1990). Here, the ALJ failed properly to consider the non-contemporaneous evidence presented by Newell in order to perform a retrospective analysis. The ALJ also erred in using Newell’s lack of treatment prior to August 31, 1997, as a basis for discrediting her credibility regarding her pain and level of function. Lay evidence need not be corroborated by contemporaneous medical evidence to be credible. See Basinger v. Heckler, 725 F.2d 1166, 1169 (8th Cir. 1984) (lay evidence must be considered even if uncorroborated by medical evidence). Moreover, SSR 96-7p, 1996 SSR LEXIS 4, at , provides that an “individual’s statements about the intensity and persistence of pain or other symptoms or about the effect the symptoms have on his or her ability to work may not be disregarded solely because they are not substantiated by objective medical evidence.” The ALJ also failed to give proper reasons for discrediting her credibility. Thus in Sousa v. Callahan, 143 F.3d 1240 (9th Cir. 1998), the Appeals Council had cited the length of time between the actual events and the testimony and the lack of corroborating objective evidence as reasons for rejecting the lay testimony but the court of appeals found that “[t]hese justifications for the rejection of the lay testimony are not sufficient.” Id. at 1244.