Facts

Plaintiff Jack Daniel Garcia applied for social security disability benefits under the Social Security Act, which was denied initially and on reconsideration. Garcia then requested a hearing before an administrative law judge, who determined Garcia was not disabled. Garcia filed for judicial review.

PLAINTIFF'S CONTENTIONS: Plaintiff contended that defendant erred by disregarding plaintiff's testimony without valid reason and that defendant improperly discounted the testimony of plaintiff's lay witness. Additionally, plaintiff argued that defendant did not give enough weight to the medical opinions provided by plaintiff's treating physician, and instead relied on the state agency non-examining physician's opinion.

DEFENDANT'S CONTENTIONS: The ALJ determined that Garcia suffered from morbid obesity, bilateral knee meniscal tears, thoracic degenerative joint disease, cervical degenerative disc disease, asthma, anxiety, and depression, but was not disabled. Defendant contended that the ALJ made no errors in determining that plaintiff was not disabled and that it gave the appropriate amount of weight to medical opinions provided. Additionally defendant argued that the ALJ appropriately evaluated plaintiff's testimony and the testimony of the lay witness.

Result

The court found the ALJ committed error when it failed to provide valid reasons to support the amount of weight it gave to plaintiff's treating physician. Therefore, the court reversed the decision and remanded the case for further proceedings.