Case Name in Social Security Case - Unavailable

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF OREGON
LAURA
W.
1
,
Plaintiff,
V.
COMMISSIONER OF SOCIAL SECURITY
ADMINISTRATION,
Defendant.
MARK
D. CLARKE, Magistrate Judge:
Civ. No. 3:24-cv-02054-CL
OPINION AND ORDER
Plaintiff Laura
W. seeks judicial review of the final decision of the Commissioner of the
Social Security Administration denying her claims for Title II disability and disability insurance
benefits. Full consent to magistrate judge jurisdiction was entered on December 12, 2024 (ECF
#
5). For the reasons provided below, the Commissioner's decision is REVERSED and
REMANDED for further proceedings.
PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND
Plaintiff alleges disability beginning October 11, 2021, due to, in relevant part, major
depressive disorder, and generalized anxiety disorder, which manifest as frequent, uncontrollable
bouts
of crying, depressed mood, and passive suicidal ideation.
1
In the interest of privacy, this Opinion and Order uses only the first name and the initial of the
last name
of the non-governmental party or parties in this case.
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Her claims were denied initially and upon reconsideration. On June 12, 2024, a hearing was held
before an Administrative Law Judge ("ALJ"), wherein Plaintiff was represented by counsel and
testified, as did a vocational expert ("VE"
). The ALJ issued a decision denying Plaintiffs claims
on July 16, 2024. The Appeals Council denied her request for review on November 1, 2024.
Plaintiff now requests the United States District Court review the
ALJ's decision and alleges
harmful legal error.
THE ALJ'S FINDINGS
At step one of the five-step sequential evaluation process, the ALJ found Plaintiff met the
insured status requirements through December 31, 2024, and she had not engaged in substantial
gainful activity since the alleged onset date
of October 11, 2021. Tr. 18. At step two, the ALJ
detennined the following impairments were medically determinable and severe: "cervical
radiculopathy, neuropathy, hypertension, obesity, depressive disorder, and anxiety disorder"
Id.
At step three, the ALJ found Plaintiffs impairments, either singly or in combination, did not meet
or equal the requirements
of a listed impairment. Tr. 19.
Because she did not establish a presumptive disability at step three, the ALJ continued to
evaluate how
Plaintiffs impairments affected her ability to work. The ALJ resolved that Plaintiff
had the residual function capacity ("RFC")
to perform light work except:
Tr. 21.
she can stand and walk for a combined total
of 6 hours in an 8-hour workday; sit for 6 hours
in an 8-hour workday; never climb ladders, ropes, or scaffolds; occasionally climb ramps
and stairs, balance, stoop, kneel, crouch, and crawl; understand, remember, and carry out
simple instructions; use judgement
to make simple work related decisions; deal with
occasional changes in a routine work setting; and occasionally interact with coworkers and
the public.
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At step four, the ALJ determined Plaintiff has no past relevant work. Tr. 43. At step five,
the ALJ concluded, based on the VE's testimony, that there were a significant number of jobs in
the national economy Plaintiff could perform despite her impairments. Id.
DISCUSSION
Plaintiff as serts that the ALJ erred in rejecting Plaintiffs testimony regarding her frequent
uncontrollable bouts
of crying, without providing a clear and convincing reason supported by
substantial evidence. Brown-Hunter, 806 F.3d at 488-89 (if a claimant provides objective medical
evidence of an underlying impairment and there is no affirmative evidence of malingering, the
ALJ must provide specific, clear and convincing reasons for discounting the claimant' s testimony);
20 C.F.R. § 404.1529. The Court agrees that the ALJ erred.
Plaintiff testified at the ALJ hearing that she experiences uncontrollable bouts
of crying
and she
is unable to work when she is crying. She was frequently off-task at work. She further
testified that she lost her three most recent jobs because she stopped working while crying
uncontrollably. Specifically, regarding her most recent job, she testified that, due to her
unscheduled crying breaks, she received three warnings from her supervisor, and elected to resign
rather than be terminated. Tr. 47-48. The frequent bouts
of uncontrollable crying last anywhere
from several minutes to
1.5 hours. Tr. 52. When asked whether her bouts of uncontrollable crying
have stopped, now that she is no longer employed, she testified that she still has crying spells.
When asked
if it happens "more or less often" now, compared to when she was working, she stated:
I feel like it' s even more than it was during the time I was working
just because over time it has gotten progressively worse. So, I tend
to have them sporadically throughout the day. It's gotten to the point
where I might be driving or in a store and it happens. And I just have
to either leave or, you know, hope that nobody really notices.
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Id. Plaintiff also testified that, over time, she has tried 16 or 17 different medications to treat her
depression.
Id. She has been told by many of her providers that she has "treatment-resistant
depression."
Id.
The ALJ explicitly acknowledged that the mental status examinations ("MSEs") in the
record documented that Plaintiff was depressed, anxious, and regularly thought
of killing herself.
Tr.
26 (stating, "apart from periodic depressed mood, anxiety, and passive suicidal ideation
[Plaintiffs] mental status examinations were generally normal."). The ALJ's conclusion, that the
MS Es show that Plaintiffs symptoms were not as severe as alleged, is therefore not clear and
convincing, nor is it supported by substantial evidence.
Additionally, the ALJ's citations
to the record, purporting to support the conclusion that
Plaintiffs mental health symptoms had improved over time, are not supported. See Plf Brief (ECF
#
12), p. 8 (documenting consistent reports of depression across all of the ALJ's citations to the
record). By contrast, the objective medical evidence, including the MS Es, support Plainti
ffs
testimony that she has consistently experienced depression. The ALJ failed to give clear and
convincing reaso
ns to discount her testimony that she experiences frequent bouts of uncontrollable
crying as a res ult
of that depression.
If Plaintiffs symptom testimony is credited as true, the record reflects Plaintiff would
likely
be unable to work. The ALJ asked the VE, "if someone requires additional breaks throughout
the workday - l
et's say, in addition to regularly scheduled breaks and lunch they need at least two
additional breaks of at least half an hour each, could that person sustain full time work in your
experience?" Tr. 56. The VE answered, "Not competitively ... that
's not consistent with
competitive employment demands." Id. The VE gave the same answer regarding if someone is
missing more than
16 hours of work per month for any reason. Id.
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Here, it is not entirely clear exactly how much work time Plaintiff would miss due to her
frequent bouts
of uncontrollable crying. Additionally, Plaintiff does not request remand for
immediate payment
of benefits. Instead, Plaintiff requests that the ALJ decision be reversed and
remanded for further proceedings and for the ALJ to properly consider the evidence. This request
is granted.
CONCLUSION
For the reasons discussed above, the ALJ's decision
is not supported by substantial
evidenc
e. Accordin gly, the Commissioner' s decision is REVERSED, and this case is
REMANDED for further proceedings. On remand, the ALJ shall properly credit and consider the
Plaintiffs depression and sy mptom testimony.
DA TED this
.!..:i day of August, 2026.
United States Magistrate Judge
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