Strouse v. Astrue - ED Pa. - March 19, 2010
http://www.paed.uscourts.gov/documents/opinions/10D0273P.pdf
The case was remanded because of the ALJ's failure to include all of the claimant's mental impairments in his hypothetical question to the vocational expert.
During the fifth step of the evaluation process, the ALJ may pose a hypothetical question to a VE to determine what jobs the claimant is capable of performing given his impairments. Rutherford, 399 F.3d at 554 (3d Cir. 2005). The hypothetical question “must reflect all of a claimant’s impairments supported by the record; otherwise the question is deficient and the expert’s answer to it cannot be considered substantial evidence.” Chrupcala v.Heckler, 829 F.2d 1269, 1276 (3d Cir. 1987) (citations omitted). The hypothetical need not contain every impairment alleged by the claimant, but it must convey all credibly established limitations. Rutherford, 399 F.3d at 554.
Claimant contends the ALJ did not consider his moderate deficiencies in concentration, persistence, or pace. In a similar case, the Third Circuit found “a requirement that a job be limited to one to two step tasks, as was stated in the hypothetical relied upon by the ALJ, does not adequately encompass a finding that [petitioner] ‘often’ has deficiencies in concentration, persistence, or pace.” Ramirez v. Barnhart, 372 F.3d 546, 554 (3d Cir. 2004). The court concluded the ALJ should have taken the claimant’s deficiencies in pace into account, explaining, “[m]any employers require a certain output level from their employees over a given amount of time, and an individual with deficiencies in pacemight be able to performsimple tasks, but not over an extended period of time.” Id. The court reasoned the VE may have changed her answer as to whether there were jobs in the local or national economy the claimant could perform if the hypothetical had included difficulties inmaintaining concentration, persistence, or pace. Id. Because the hypothetical did not adequately convey all of Ramirez’s impairments, the Third Circuit remanded his claimto the ALJ. Id. at 555.
Because the ALJ did not include claimant’s difficulties in maintaining concentration, persistence, or pace in the hypothetical question posed to the VE, this case is analogous to Ramirez. Thus, because the VE’s answer did not reflect all of claimant's credibly-established impairments, the hypothetical question posed by the ALJ was deficient, and the VE’s answer to it cannot be considered substantial evidence. This Court agrees with the recommendation of the Magistrate Judge, and finds the matter should be remanded to the ALJ to properly include this information in the hypothetical question to the VE.
