Facts

On April 30, 2018, Tiarah Mone Shorter filed an application for supplemental security income alleging a disability onset date of January 1, 2014. Her application was denied, both initially and on reconsideration, so Shorter requested a hearing before an administrative law judge.

On September 16, 2020, a hearing was held, during which Shorter appeared without counsel. At the hearing, Shorter testified that she lived in a facility; did not drive; could not be around more than four or more people without anxiety; suffered from edema; and had visual and auditory hallucinations. Moreover, her medical history indicated she had been placed under an involuntary psychiatric hold in January 2018 after she was found walking in and out of traffic and talking to herself. Shorter was diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder and bipolar, and the doctor treating her noted that she had limited insight and judgment and reported paranoid ideation.

In January 2021, the ALJ issued a decision concluding Shorter was not disabled. After the Appeals Council denied her request for review, the ALJ's decision became the final decision of the Commissioner of Social Security. Shorter then filed suit seeking judicial review by the district court.

PLAINTIFF'S CONTENTIONS: Plaintiff contended that she was disabled and had been since January 2014; that she suffered from mental illness such that she could not be around people and suffered hallucinations; and that the ALJ had erred when it concluded she was not disabled. Specifically, Shorter contended that the ALJ failed to properly consider her testimony about her symptoms.

DEFENDANT'S CONTENTIONS: The defendant denied any error or wrongdoing. Moreover, the defendant contended that the ALJ properly concluded the plaintiff's treatment records did not support her claims, particularly when coupled with evidence that Shorter's condition improved with treatment.

Result

The court reversed the Commissioner's decision.