Opinion
CIVIL NO. 02-1515 (DRD)
June 11, 2003
Salvador Medina De la Cruz, Esq., Río Piedras, Puerto Rico, for Plaintiff.
Camille Vélez-Rivé, Esq., Assistant U.S. Attorney, San Juan, P.R., for Defendant.
OPINION AND ORDER
This is an action filed pursuant to Section 205(g) of the Social Security Act, 42 U.S.C. § 405(g), to review the final decision of the Commissioner of Social Security, denying plaintiff's application for disability insurance benefits based on his physical and mental condition. Upon careful review and consideration of the administrative record, as well as the parties' memoranda, the Court concludes that the Commissioner's decision must be VACATED, and this case be REMANDED for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.
In the present case the Puerto Rico State Insurance Fund determined that the plaintiff's present physical and emotional condition "totally disabled him to do gainful work in a stable fashion" (Tr. 416). Although said decision is not binding on the Social Security Administration, see 20 C.F.R. § 404. 1504, the same should, however, be explicitly considered and entitled to some weight. See, e.g., Morrison v. Apfel, 146 F.3d 625, 628 (8th Cir. 1998); Baca v. Department of Health and Human Services, 5 F.3d 476, 480 (10th Cir. 1993); Baca v. Shalala, 907 F. Supp. 351, 354-355 (D.N.M. 1995). If the Commissioner ultimately rejects the findings and conclusions of the state agency, reasons must be given, to enable meaningful judicial review. Morrison, supra at 628.
The decision of the Administrative Law Judge in this case (Tr. 20-26) fails to discuss whether the State Insurance Fund's determination of total disability was considered, and if so, what weight, if any, was it given, along with the reasons for such ruling. Thus, the Commissioner's decision cannot be said at this time to be supported by substantial evidence of record.
Because the administrative record in this case contains objective medical evidence of plaintiff's condition (i.e., the state agency determination), upon remand, the Administrative Law Judge must further obtain residual functional capacity assessments from examining medical practitioners, rather than non-examining ones, as required by First Circuit precedent. See Rivera Figueroa v. Secretary of Health and Human Services, 858 F.2d 48, 52 (1st Cir. 1988); Heggarty v. Sullivan, 947 F.2d 990, 997 n. 1 (1st Cir. 1991); Rivera Torres v. Secretary of Health and Human Services, 837 F.2d 4, 6 (1st Cir. 1988). See also Rivera Ocasio v. Commissioner of Social Security, 213 F. Supp.2d 81, 82 (D.P.R. 2002); Ruperto Torres v. Secretary of Health and Human Services, 791 F. Supp. 342, 343-344 (D.P.R. 2002).
The present ruling is not an opinion on the ultimate merits of plaintiff's claim.