Plaintiff Robert L. Saiz appeals from a district court order affirming the Commissioner’s decision denying his application for social security benefits. We review the Commissioner’s decision to determine whether it rests on substantial evidence and adheres to applicable legal standards.
Berna v. Chater,
Plaintiff claims that he is disabled primarily by degenerative disc disease affecting his cervical and lumbar vertebrae. The administrative law judge (ALJ) found that this condition limited plaintiffs residual functional capacity (RFC) to sedentary work, but rejected plaintiffs allegation that the associated pain further restricted his ability to work. The ALJ concluded that plaintiff was not disabled under the grids, based on the premise that plaintiff could perform a full range of sedentary work. The accuracy of that premise is the focus of this appeal, as it was the necessary and sufficient condition for application of the operative grid.
See, e.g., Allen v. Barnhart,
Use of Grid for Sedentary Work Precluded by Reaching Limitation
Plaintiff contends his capacity for sedentary work is substantially reduced by two non-exertional limitations associated with his degenerative skeletal condition: in particular, problems with cervical vertebrae limit his ability to reach with his upper extremities 2 and, more generally, pain he suffers interferes with his ability to work. The ALJ expressly considered plaintiffs allegations of pain and, based on a range of factors, concluded that the pain involved did not affect plaintiffs capacity for sedentary work. In contrast, the ALJ did not address the reaching limitation in even a facially logical manner. In the body of his decision, the ALJ acknowledged a significant limitation on plaintiffs capacity for reaching, App. Yol. 1 at 14 (noting “no significant postural, manipulative or environmental limitations except for reaching”) (emphasis added), but in the dispositive findings recited at the end of the decision this limitation is completely ignored without any explanation. See id. at 20-21.
The Commissioner attempts to fill the gap in the ALJ’s decision by arguing that the reaching limitation has little support in the record. Not only is this effort undone by the obvious point that the ALJ himself noted the limitation,
see Allen,
The presence of this particular limitation, specifically in connection with a sedentary RFC, is not a technical or formalistic point. A sedentary RFC already “represents a significantly restricted range of work.” Social Security Ruling (SSR) 96-9p,
This court has, on occasions too numerous to require citation, reversed determinations of non-disability for lack of the requisite match between RFC and grid conditions. We must do so again here. That holding obviates consideration of plaintiffs other challenges to the ALJ’s use of the grids.
Other Objections
Plaintiff raises a novel due process objection, based on an assurance he was given at the close of the evidentiary hearing when the ALJ said he “would get a favorable ruling from [the ALJ] in about two or three months,” App. Vol. 1 at 53. Plaintiff contends that this assurance created a false sense of security that lulled him into believing further efforts in support of his application were unnecessary. This contention is moot in light of our disposition here. Any false sense of security created by the ALJ’s assurance has since been dispelled, and plaintiff will presumably have an opportunity on remand to support his position with any evidence or argument previously foregone on that account.
Plaintiff criticizes the ALJ’s pain assessment in several specific respects that have a relevance beyond his objection to use of the grids. These criticisms involve minor, perhaps individually non-dispositive points, but their facial merit gives pause. For example, the ALJ implied that plaintiffs pain was precipitated only by medium to heavy lifting, when the record indicates, rather, that plaintiff has continued to suffer constant pain after his cessation of any such activity. The ALJ also stated that the pain was well controlled by medication and exercise, when the record suggests that nothing plaintiff tried really relieved his pain. In this regard, we also note that plaintiff has now been found disabled (as of the day after the decision under review here) on a second application for benefits, and that favorable determination rested to a substantial extent on his “complain[ts] of severe pain and an inability to sustain work ... supported and corroborated by the medical history and recent clinical findings.” See Aplt. Reply Br., Ex. A. In light of these considerations, we encourage the Commissioner to ensure that a thorough reassessment of plaintiffs allegations of pain is made in conjunction with the administrative proceedings conducted on remand.
The judgment of the district court is REVERSED and the cause is REMANDED with directions to remand, in turn, to