How Does Social Security Evaluate Mental Health in a Disability Case?

Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) covers both physical and mental impairments that prevent a person from working full-time. Mental impairments include conditions such as major depressive disorder, generalized anxiety disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Regular mental health treatment is an essential component to establishing disability with the Social Security Administration (SSA). In addition to establishing the symptoms that you suffer from due to your mental health impairments, it is essential to show the level of severity that these symptoms create and the limitations that result.

Federal Court Orders New SSDI Hearing for Washington Veteran

Social Security officials are often quick to deny disability claims based on posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and other mental health disorders that do not appear on an MRI and lack objective laboratory testing. Mental health impairments require the claimant’s testimony about his or her impairment’s impact on day-to-day life. In many cases the rejection of the claimant’s subjective reports are improper and run contrary to law.

For example, a federal appeals court recently ordered Social Security to reconsider a Washington Veteran’s SSDI application precisely because an agency official improperly discredited the applicant’s testimony.

The Veteran in this case, Gage v. Bisignano, applied for SSDI benefits based on both physical and mental impairments. A Social Security administrative law judge (ALJ) denied the application after partially rejecting the testimony of two medical experts who examined the Veteran in connection with his disability claim.

With respect to physical impairment, the experts opined that the Veteran could only sit for 2 to 4 hours per day, for no more than 1 to 2 hours at a time due to his hip and back impairments. The ALJ found this limitation was not supported by the Veteran’s treatment records. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals disagreed and found the ALJ’s conclusions on this point were based on “misstatements of the record.”

Additionally, the appellate court said the ALJ “failed to offer specific, clear and convincing reasons” for rejecting the Veteran’s own testimony regarding both his physical and mental impairments. With respect to his PTSD, the Veteran testified that his mental health was “up and down” and that he struggles with anger issues and constant nightmares. The ALJ found this testimony was “inconsistent” with his “mental status exams, infrequent counseling, and a high level of daily functioning.”

But the Ninth Circuit said it was a legal error to reject the Veteran’s testimony regarding his mental health “merely because symptoms wax and wane in the course of treatment.” Indeed, the Veteran’s treatment notes indicated that he was regularly taking “various medications” for his nightmares and his treating psychiatrists had “documented the impact of trauma from [the applicant’s] military service on his mental health and sleep habits.”

Additionally, the Ninth Circuit noted the ALJ failed to consider the fact that the claimant’s doctor had “retired and that he has had difficulty finding a new one who will work with the Department of Veterans Affairs.”

Given all of the ALJ’s legal errors, the Ninth Circuit determined the Veteran was entitled to a new hearing for SSDI benefits.

Contact a Social Security Disability Lawyer

Convincing Social Security that you have a legitimate physical or mental disability is often an uphill battle. That is why it is crucial to work with an experienced  Social Security Disability lawyer. Contact Gustad Law Group, PLLC, today to schedule a consultation. We serve clients in Seattle, Spokane, and Tacoma and throughout the United States.

Source:

scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=8622839290830359194