Luther v. Berryhill, No. 16-55987 (9th Cir. 2018)
Annotate this CaseThe Ninth Circuit reversed the denial of disability insurance benefits and supplemental security income for claimant. The panel held that the ALJ erred in not adequately addressing claimant's 100 percent Veterans Affairs (VA) disability rating in her decision; although the ALJ noted claimant's VA disability rating at the hearing and in her written decision, she did not address how she had considered and weighed the VA's rating or articulated any reasons for rejecting it; and thus remand was appropriate where it was unclear from the record whether the ALJ would be required to find claimant disabled after evaluating the VA disability rating.
Court Description: Social Security. The panel reversed the district court’s judgment that affirmed the administrative law judge’s denial of a claimant’s application for disability insurance benefits under Title II of the Social Security Act and supplemental security income under Title XVI of the Act. As an initial matter, the panel held that the Appeals Council’s reasoning for denying review is not considered on subsequent judicial review, and turned to the reasoning provided by the ALJ in her decision. The panel held that the ALJ erred in not adequately addressing claimant’s 100% Veterans Affairs (“VA”) disability rating in her decision. The panel held that although the ALJ noted claimant’s VA disability rating at the hearing and in her written decision, she did not address how she had considered and weighed the VA’s rating or articulate any reasons for rejecting it. The panel held that remand for further proceedings was appropriate where it was unclear from the record whether the ALJ would be required to find claimant disabled after evaluating the VA disability rating. LUTHER V. BERRYHILL 3
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