News & Information

CCH® UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE — 10/16/14

Court found ALJ impermissibly “playing doctor” when discrediting claimant’s low IQ score

Generally, a person with an IQ score of under 70 and at least one other impairment that imposes a limitation on the ability to work is automatically deemed disabled. Here, the claimant was denied Supplemental Security Income benefits despite having an IQ of 68 and the additional impairments of severe obesity and knee and hip pain resulting from a childhood disease. The Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) denied the claim for benefits and the district court affirmed the denial. On appeal, however, the court determined that the ALJ made numerous errors. Specifically, the ALJ concluded that the IQ test score of 68 was invalid because the testing psychologist noted that the results included significant "intratest scatter," which could mean the claimant had a higher intellectual potential. Further, another psychologist noted that the claimant had a "sarcastic nature." The court reasoned that the ALJ was impermissibly "playing doctor" when discrediting the low score for these reasons. In addition, the ALJ failed to properly instruct the vocational expert (VE) who testified at the hearing. The ALJ understated the claimant’s limitations when instructing the VE. The court also noted that the ALJ failed to consider the impact the claimant’s obesity had on her ability to work. Although not necessarily disabling itself, obesity must be considered in conjunction with a claimant’s other impairments. The court further found that the ALJ’s use of boilerplate language caused confusion regarding the claimant’s residual functional capacity assessment. Finally, the court took issue with the ALJ’s evaluation of the jobs that might be available to the claimant in her local area. It determined that there were no credible statistics on the number of jobs in each category available for people like the claimant whose limitations included intellectual disability, severe obesity, and the residual effects of a childhood disease of the leg. The judgment of the district court was reversed and the case was remanded to the SSA (Heather Browning v. Commr., CA-7, No. 13-3836, September 4, 2014).