Mabry v. Colvin, No. 15-1240 (8th Cir. 2016)
Annotate this CasePlaintiff, suffering a combination of impairments such as paranoid schizophrenia and depression, appealed the denial of his applications for disability insurance benefits (DIB) and supplemental security income (SSI). Plaintiff asserts that the ALJ’s residual functioning capacity (RFC) assessment does not adequately account for all the limitations he suffers due to the combination of paranoid schizophrenia, panic attacks, and chronic depression. The court found that the the ALJ did not rely solely on the opinions of the state agency doctors and sufficiently considered the medical records provided by plaintiff in assessing his RFC. The ALJ did consider the opinion of plaintiff's expert, but concluded that it was inconsistent with the rest of the doctor's report. Further, the ALJ also considered plaintiff's Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF) scores, but found that they were not controlling. In this case, the ALJ concluded that plaintiff's symptoms were reasonably controlled by medication and treatment. Therefore, substantial evidence supports the ALJ's RFC determination and the RFC determination included the necessary limitations to account for plaintiff's mental impairments. Accordingly, the court affirmed the judgment.
Court Description: Kelly, Author, with Wollman and Colloton, Circuit Judges] Civil case - Social Security. The ALJ gave sufficient consideration to certain of claimant's medical records in assessing his Residual Functional Capacity; the ALJ properly assessed and weighed claimant's Global Assessment of Functioning scores; no error in finding claimant's mental illness was reasonably controlled by medication and treatment; no error in concluding, based on claimant's work record, that he lacked motivation to return to work.
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