Opinion ID: 6968466
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Rejection of Dr. Lundeen’s Analysis.

Text: Plaintiff submitted a letter, dated November 1, 1994, containing the opinion testimony of Dr. Richard Lundeen. Dr. Lundeen concluded that “there is sufficient medical and lay evidence to establish with reasonable medical certainty that Mrs. Anna Dangler Sousa was, in 1987, suffering from the identifiable mental health disorder known as Dysthymia [leading to] a marked impairment of Mrs. Sousa’s psychological, social, and occupational functioning.” The Appeals Council agreed with Dr. Lundeen’s conclusion that plaintiff had dysthymia prior to December 31, 1987; however, it “[did not] agree that the evidence of record supports the degree of restrictions shown in his evaluation.” In rejecting Dr. Lundeen’s opinion, the Appeals Council noted that Dr. Lundeen “based much of his assessment of the claimant’s functional ability on the testimony of the claimant and her husband at the [March, 1994] hearing.” The Commissioner may reject the opinion of a non-examining physician by reference to specific evidence in the medical record. Gomez v. Chater, 74 F.3d 967, 972 (9th Cir.), cert. denied, — U.S. -, 117 S.Ct. 209, 136 L.Ed.2d 144 (1996); Andrews v. Shalala, S3 F.3d 1035, 1041 (9th Cir.1995). In rejecting Dr. Lundeen’s opinion, the Appeals Council noted that Dr. Lundeen “based much of his assessment of the claimant’s functional ability on the testimony of the claimant and her husband at the [March, 1994] hearing.” As discussed above, the Appeals Council offered insufficient justification for rejecting that testimony. If the lay testimony is found credible, then Dr. Lundeen’s reliance on it does not undermine the validity of his analysis. Accordingly, his opinion remains a substantial hurdle standing in the way of a finding that the claimant was not disabled. Because this improper discreditation of the lay testimony formed the basis for the rejection of Dr. Lundeen’s analysis, that rejection fails. We therefore conclude that the Appeals Council’s conclusion that claimant was not disabled during the relevant time period is not supported by substantial evidence. B. Whether the Plaintiff Would Still Be Disabled if She Stopped Using Drugs and Alcohol Title 42 U.S.C. § 423(d)(2)(C) (“the amendment”) provides that “[a]n individual shall not be considered to be disabled for purposes of this subchapter if drug addiction or alcoholism would ... be a contributing factor material to the Commissioner’s determination that the individual is disabled.” The “key factor ... in determining whether alcoholism or drug addiction is a contributing factor material to the determination of disability” is whether an individual would still be found disabled if she stopped using alcohol or drugs. 20 C.F.R. § 404.1535(b)(1). “In making this determination, [the Commissioner] will evaluate which of [the claimant’s] current physical and mental limitations ... would remain if [she] stopped using drugs or alcohol and then determine whether any or all of [her] remaining limitations would be disabling.” 20 C.F.R. § 404.1535(b)(2). When the hearing was held, the amendment was not yet in existence. At that time, drug and alcohol addiction could support a finding of disability, and plaintiff presented her ease accordingly. On March 29, 1996, after the hearing, the ALJ ruling, the Appeals Council’s reopening of the ease, its decision, and the filing of this civil action in the district court, the amendment came into effect. The district court asked the parties to brief the issue of the applicability of the amendment, but plaintiff never had an opportunity to present evidence relevant to the amendment’s primary inquiry: whether plaintiffs organic brain syndrome, dysthy-mia, and adjustment disorder would remain during periods when she stopped using drugs and alcohol. The district court stated that because “any fair reading of the record demonstrates that plaintiff’s mental problems during the pertinent period were intertwined and exacerbated by longstanding substance abuse,” and “plaintiffs substance abuse constituted a significant contributing factor to the determination of mental impairment,” plaintiff is precluded from obtaining disability insurance benefits. In arriving at this conclusion, the court failed to distinguish between substance abuse contributing to the disability and the disability remaining after the claimant stopped using drugs or alcohol. The two are not mutually exclusive. Just because substance abuse contributes to a disability does not mean that when the substance abuse ends, the disability will too. Claimants subject to this amendment must be given an opportunity to present evidence as to whether their disability would have remained if they stopped using drugs and alcohol. Because a change in the law has now rendered once irrelevant evidence a material part of the DIB inquiry, the case must be remanded to give Sousa an opportunity to present further evidence. See 42 U.S.C. § 405(g) (stating that federal courts may remand Social Security cases for the taking of further evidence “only upon a showing that there is new evidence which is material and that there is good cause for the failure to incorporate such evidence into the record in a prior proceeding”).