Case law

Weeks v. Saul

District Court, E.D. Washington · Jun 30, 2021

The party appealing the ALJ’s 6 decision generally bears the burden of establishing that it was harmed. … Shalala, 53 F.3d 1035, 1041 (9th Cir. 1995). 3 “Only physicians and certain other qualified specialists are considered 4 ‘[a]cceptable medical sources.’” Ghanim v.

Contreras

District Court, E.D. Washington · Oct 15, 2025

Remand Analysis – Medical Opinions: Plaintiff established 8 consequential error. … further proceedings are necessary because disability during the at- 4 issue period is not clearly

Alarid v. Kijakazi

District Court, E.D. Washington · Jun 19, 2020

The 10 claimant has the initial burden of establishing a prima facie case of entitlement to 11 disability benefits. Rhinehart v. Finch, 438 F.2d 920, 921 (9th Cir. 1971). … Remand, rather than an award of benefits, is appropriate 10 In light of the errors identified above, further proceedings are clearly 11 necessary.

Morton v. Saul

District Court, E.D. Washington · Aug 20, 2020

See 5 Lester, 81 F.3d at 833 (treating physician’s continuing relationship makes him 6 “especially qualified” to form a conclusion as to functional capacities and 7 limitations). … “Thus, applying our normal standard of review 8 to the requirements of step two, [the Court] must determine whether the ALJ had 9 substantial evidence to find that the medical evidence clearly established that 10 [

Olsen v. O'Malley

District Court, E.D. Washington · Oct 25, 2024

However, the Ninth Circuit has held that the Social Security 15 regulations revised in March 2017 are “clearly irreconcilable with [past Ninth 16 Circuit] caselaw according special deference to the opinions of treating … DeGooyer, as a sports 19 medicine specialist, was better qualified than the ALJ to assess the significance of 20 Plaintiff’s negative lumbar and pelvic MRI findings, and Dr.

Johnson v. Kijakazi

District Court, E.D. Washington · Jul 24, 2020

This burden is met once a claimant establishes that a physical or mental 9 impairment prevents her from engaging in his previous occupation. Id. … Indeed, the 5 ALJ does not clearly and convincingly state why Plaintiff’s subjective testimony 6 about her symptoms should be discounted and instead cherry picks from a vast 7 medical record to find instances of “good

Collins v. Saul

District Court, E.D. Washington · Mar 27, 2020

medical sources are licensed physicians, licensed or certified psychologists, licensed 17 optometrists, licensed podiatrists, qualified … 1 [O]nce we get into the middle part of 2016, and moving forward, I think the record really speaks fairly clearly

Molder v. BNSF Railway Company

District Court, E.D. Washington · Aug 28, 2019

The 5 moving party bears the “burden of establishing the nonexistence of a ‘genuine 6 issue.’” Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 330 (1986). … ECF No. 43 at 29, ¶ 40. 8 “Because a Spiker does not operate on concrete ties, [Plaintiff] worked on the 9 ground as a laborer, which he and all machine operators are qualified and expected 10 to do when not operating

Ekstedt v. Kijakazi

District Court, E.D. Washington · Sep 28, 2021

“Thus, 17 applying our normal standard of review to the requirements of step two, we must 18 determine whether the ALJ had substantial evidence to find that the medical evidence 19 clearly established that [Plaintiff … The claimant bears the burden of 9 establishing he meets a Listing.

Roberts v. Kijakazi

District Court, E.D. Washington · Nov 29, 2021

The claimant bears the burden of establishing he meets a 8 listing. … An impairment that 13 manifests only some of those criteria, no matter how severely, does not qualify.” 14 Sullivan v. Zebley, 493 U.S. 521, 530 (1990) (emphasis in original).

Garcia v. O'Malley

District Court, E.D. Washington · Jan 10, 2024

supported Plaintiff’s allegations and “expressed unrealistic expectations as to the 20 level of dysfunction Plaintiff needed to display in order to qualify … However, the Ninth Circuit has held that the Social Security 12 regulations revised in March 2017 are “clearly irreconcilable with [past Ninth 13 Circuit] caselaw according special deference to the opinions of treating

Rogers v. Bisignano

District Court, E.D. Washington · May 19, 2025

Step Four (Vocational Expert Testimony): Plaintiff 10 establishes consequential error. … But tasks that aren’t essential, integral, 15 or expected parts of a job are less likely to qualify as apparent conflicts that the ALJ must ask about.

Barrett v. Saul

District Court, E.D. Washington · Aug 11, 2020

Asher’s testimony included the qualifier that 22 Plaintiff’s marijuana use may have been impacting his motivation and ability to 23 maintain attention and concentration. Tr. 217, 219. … Defendant argues the error on the DOT code does not render 3 the findings meaningless, as it was clearly a matter of a typo on a single digit of the 4 code. ECF No. 14 at 20.

Wright v. Kijakazi

District Court, E.D. Washington · Oct 8, 2021

Jones 26 clearly indicated that her conclusions excluded any limitations due to drug and 27 alcohol abuse and (2) in her second assessment, which occurred more than six 28 months after Plaintiff testified that he had … Jones is not a medical physician and is therefore 6 not a qualified medical source. AR at 38, 47, 49, 60. Thus, Ms.

Allison v. Kijakazi

District Court, E.D. Washington · Mar 2, 2022

Smiley’s testimony together, he clearly opined that Plaintiff was 6 likely to suffer at least one arthritis flareup per month, and that each such flare up 7 could reasonably be expected to result in Plaintiff … 15 16 17 he was a well-qualified

Daniel v. Saul

District Court, E.D. Washington · Jul 1, 2021

(quotation and citation omitted). 14 The party appealing the ALJ’s decision generally bears the burden of establishing 15 that it was harmed. Shinseki v. … Moreover, as discussed in detail below, 3 upon pursuing the recommended treatment, the record clearly indicates that 4 Plaintiff’s right shoulder pain successfully resolved.

Donahue v. Commissioner of Social Security

District Court, E.D. Washington · Aug 2, 2019

The party appealing the ALJ’s 8 decision generally bears the burden of establishing that it was harmed. … An impairment 8 that manifests only some of those criteria, no matter how severely, does not 9 qualify.”)).

Blakely v. Kijakazi

District Court, E.D. Washington · Mar 24, 2022

In July 2017, DVR staff 3 notified Plaintiff that he qualified for services.56 After meeting with Plaintiff, 4 conducting an assessment to determine his strengths and vocational interests, and 5 a series … Shepley in Plaintiff’s ability to understand, remember, or 14 apply information, the ALJ’s statement that the DVR records “indicate absolutely 15 no problems” in those areas is inaccurate, as those records clearly

Escalera Estrada v. Saul

District Court, E.D. Washington · Feb 19, 2020

The party appealing the ALJ’s 10 decision generally bears the burden of establishing that it was harmed. … Cline did not include any qualifying 8 statements with her assessed marked limitations. Tr. 315. The ALJ formulated an 9 RFC that incorporated Dr.

Lands Council v. Vaught

198 F. Supp. 2d 1211 · District Court, E.D. Washington · Mar 29, 2002

Council, 490 U.S. 360, 378 , 109 S.Ct. 1851 , 104 L.Ed.2d 377 (1989) (“when specialists express conflicting views, an agency has discretion to rely on the reasonable opinions of its own qualified experts.”) … Plaintiffs were determining the exact status of the plots in order to establish the accuracy of the Forest Service’s predictions.