Facts

Gary Lynn West filed a complaint for judicial review of an unfavorable decision by the Commissioner of Social Security Administration as to his mental disability. West received treatment in 2017 for his depression and anxiety and was prescribed clonazepam. He received refills for the drug in 2018. On March 8, 2018, Dr. Peters, plaintiff's medical expert, completed questionnaire forms opining that West was not able to do any full-time work and was unable to do any repetitive lifting because of "widespread pain including back and knees." Instead, West could sit for one-to-two hours at a time and could stand and walk for 20-30 minutes at a time without rest or support. In 2019, West's medical records indicated a generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder with agoraphobia and major depressive disorder and recommended therapy and learning coping skills. Further, in 2020, West reported that he had viable coping mechanisms for his panic attacks.

PLAINTIFF'S CONTENTIONS: Plaintiff contended the Administrative Law Judge's finding was improper because he did not acknowledge that plaintiff was receiving care from a therapist and psychiatrist and failed to consider whether his medical expert's opinion was consistent with plaintiff's treatment records from county mental health. Plaintiff's medical expert alleged that plaintiff has significant chronic pain and social anxiety that he was unable to control with medication. He argued that plaintiff had a moderate inability to understand, remember, and carry out instructions, moderate inability to sustain activities and moderate social anxiety impairing work with co-workers. Further, he maintained that plaintiff had an extreme inability to withstand stress and pressure during an eight-hour workday and was likely to miss five-to-ten days of work per month. Thus, he opined that plaintiff had been disabled since December 1, 2016.

DEFENDANT'S CONTENTIONS: Defendant denied all contentions.

Result

The decision of the Commissioner of Social Security was affirmed since it was supported by substantial evidence.