Karen D. Eubanks v. Michael J. Astrue, No. 5:2010cv01564 - Document 29 (C.D. Cal. 2011)
Court Description: MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER by Magistrate Judge Ralph Zarefsky. (ib)
Download PDF
<![CDATA[
O 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 11 KAREN D. EUBANKS, 12 13 14 15 Plaintiff, vs. MICHAEL J. ASTRUE, Commissioner of Social Security, Defendant. 16 ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) CASE NO. ED CV 10-01564 RZ MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER 17 Plaintiff Karen D. Eubanks contends that the Social Security Commissioner 18 wrongly denied her claim for disability benefits. Plaintiff argues that the Administrative 19 Law Judge ( ALJ ) erred in determining her disability onset date. The Court agrees, as 20 explained below. 21 An ALJ s determination of a claimant s disability onset date must have a 22 legitimate medical basis. Armstrong v. Commissioner, 160 F.3d 587, 589 (9th Cir. 1998) 23 (quoting Social Security Ruling ( SSR ) 83-20). [W]here a record is ambiguous as to the 24 onset date of disability, the ALJ must call a medical expert to assist in determining the 25 onset date. Id. at 590. 26 In this case, the ALJ determined, without the assistance of a medical expert, 27 that Plaintiff became disabled as of June 2007, when her mental condition deteriorated 28 enough to prevent her from performing sustained work activity. (AR 32.) The ALJ based 1 her decision on Plaintiff s inception of ongoing treatment for her inappropriate histrionic 2 response to family problems at that time (AR 31-32), a reference to Plaintiff s June 2007 3 emergency room visit for an anxiety attack and subsequent regular treatment by a 4 psychiatrist. (AR 30; see AR 217-19, 265-70.) But the record demonstrates that Plaintiff 5 had suffered from a mental impairment prior to June 2007. Treating physician 6 Dr. Markarian assessed Plaintiff with major depression as early as February 2005. (AR 7 155-56, 164, 174-77, 187-88.) In addition, Dr. Johnson-Quijada, wrote on May 15, 2006, 8 that Plaintiff had been under her care since January 2004 and had been continuously 9 disabled since this date to present due to her Major Depression Disorder and panic attacks. 10 (AR 152.) Dr. Davis, a psychologist who treated Plaintiff beginning in October 2006, 11 wrote that Plaintiff s diagnoses included recurrent, severe major depression, dysthymic 12 disorder, and generalized anxiety disorder. He opined that Plaintiff was not physically or 13 emotionally able to work as of November 27, 2006, though she was able to work in the 14 past. (AR 197-98.) 15 This evidence demonstrates that Plaintiff had suffered from and sought 16 treatment for mental illness long before her June 2007 emergency room visit. Although 17 the ALJ may be correct that Plaintiff s illness deteriorated in June 2007, her impairment 18 could have been disabling long before that time. See Armstrong, 160 F.3d at 590; see 19 also SSR 83-20 (noting that for hospitalized mental patients, onset of disability may 20 sometimes be found at a time considerably in advance of admission ). Because the record 21 is ambiguous as to the onset of Plaintiff s disability, the ALJ was required to call a medical 22 expert to assist in determining the onset date. Armstrong, 160 F.3d at 590. 23 The ALJ s rejection of Drs. Johnson-Quijada s and Davis s opinions does not 24 negate this requirement. Even if the ALJ s rejection of these opinions was proper, there 25 is other evidence of record documenting the existence of a mental impairment long before 26 June 2007. However, it is not clear to the Court why, as Plaintiff concedes, there are no 27 treatment notes from either Dr. Johnson-Quijada or Dr. Davis in the record. Based on the 28 information in their letters and their status as treating clinicians, notes from these -2- 1 practitioners could substantially inform the ALJ s understanding of Plaintiff s condition 2 before June 2007. Plaintiff and the ALJ should make every effort to obtain these records. 3 In accordance with the foregoing, the decision is reversed. The matter is 4 remanded to the Commissioner, who shall properly assess Plaintiff s disability onset date, 5 and otherwise proceed as appropriate. 6 IT IS SO ORDERED. 7 8 DATED: December 27, 2011 9 10 11 RALPH ZAREFSKY UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 -3-
]]>
Some case metadata and case summaries were written with the help of AI, which can produce inaccuracies. You
should read the full case before relying on it for legal research purposes.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google
Privacy Policy and
Terms of Service apply.
