Pierce v. Astrue

1 Citing case

  1. Johnson v. Berryhill

    CASE NO.: 1:16-cv-885-GMB [WO] (M.D. Ala. Mar. 5, 2018)

    Johnson has failed to do, as she did not allege a mental impairment in her initial disability application, on reconsideration, through amendment of her application, or via testimony at her hearing before the ALJ. "The Eleventh Circuit has found, and Defendant correctly points out, that 'an administrative law judge is under no obligation to investigate a claim not presented at the time of the application for benefits and not offered at the hearing as a basis for disability.'" Pierce v. Astrue, 2012 WL 1231876, at *3 (M.D. Ala. Apr. 12, 2012) (quoting Street v. Barnhart, 133 F. App'x 621, 627 (11th Cir. 2005)). In Pierce, the district court held that a claimant had not presented a colorable claim of mental impairment sufficient to trigger the ALJ's duty to apply the PRTF when she had not listed a mental impairment in her initial application, had not testified to a mental impairment at her hearing before the ALJ, and the record contained no diagnosis of a mental illness.