We appealed the decision of an administrative law judge (“ALJ”) that denied Social Security Disability (“SSD”) benefits to a 35 year old teacher from Brooklyn with mental impairments. The ALJ accepted the opinions of consultative psychologists after a single examination over my client's long time treating psychiatrists.
We argued that the ALJ erred in elevating the consultative psychologists’ opinions over the treating psychiatrists, and by interpreting the mental health records herself. District Court Judge Chen agreed, and reversed the ALJ’s decision.
Judge Chen also ruled that the ALJ erred when rejecting the treating doctors opinions because they purportedly were inconsistent with their treatment notes. Judge Chen explained that the ALJ should have requested more information from the doctors to reconcile any alleged inconsistency.
Our client originally filed for SSD on her own, with the help of her father, in 2016. After her initial denial, her father sought us out and retained us to represent his daughter for SSD benefits. He assisted in providing us with supportive evidence, and even testified on his daughter's behalf at her hearing. But since the ALJ elevated her own opinion over the opinions of our client's treating doctors, and erroneously denied our client's SSD claim, we filed suit in Federal Court. Our client would never have gotten this far had she not retained us, and with Judge Chen's acknowledgement of the ALJ's errors, we look forward to a new hearing and a new decision.
If you have already filed on your own for SSD benefits, you can still call our office for a free phone consultation in order for us to assess your disability claim and potentially represent you going forward with your SSD case. We have offices located on Long Island in both Nassau and Suffolk counties.
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