FILED
NOT FOR PUBLICATION
JUN 20 2018
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS MOLLY C. DWYER, CLERK
U.S. COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT
GENEVA L. CROSE, No. 16-35849
Plaintiff-Appellant, D.C. No. 3:15-cv-05682-RSM
v.
MEMORANDUM*
NANCY A. BERRYHILL, Acting
Commissioner Social Security,
Defendant-Appellee.
Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Western District of Washington
Ricardo S. Martinez, Chief Judge, Presiding
Argued and Submitted June 11, 2018
Seattle, Washington
Before: D.W. NELSON and WATFORD, Circuit Judges, and PREGERSON,**
District Judge.
Geneva Crose appeals from the district court’s judgment affirming the
decision of the administrative law judge (ALJ) denying Crose’s applications for
*
This disposition is not appropriate for publication and is not precedent
except as provided by Ninth Circuit Rule 36-3.
**
The Honorable Dean D. Pregerson, United States District Judge for
the Central District of California, sitting by designation.
Page 2 of 5
Social Security Disability and Supplemental Security Income benefits. We reverse
and remand for an award of benefits.
1. The ALJ improperly evaluated the medical evidence. Specifically, the
ALJ erred in giving “very little weight” to Dr. Wilke’s opinion regarding Crose’s
physical and mental impairments. As Crose’s treating physician from 2011 to
2014, Dr. Wilke was able to provide a “detailed, longitudinal picture” of Crose’s
conditions and offer a “unique perspective” on the medical evidence. 20 C.F.R.
§ 404.1527(c)(2).
Ordinarily, the treating physician’s opinion is given controlling weight if it
is well-supported by diagnostic evidence and is not inconsistent with substantial
evidence in the record. See id. Dr. Wilke’s opinion regarding Crose’s physical
and mental impairments met these criteria and should have been given controlling
weight. For example, Dr. Wilke’s diagnosis of “psychological factors affecting
physical condition” was well-supported by her clinical observations and by the
opinions of Dr. Neims, Dr. Almaraz, and Dr. Toews.
Furthermore, even if the treating physician’s opinion is not found to be
controlling, it should be evaluated according to factors such as supportability,
consistency with the overall record, frequency of examination, and length, nature,
and extent of the treatment relationship. See id. § 404.1527(c)(1)–(6). Under this
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analysis, the ALJ should have given at least due deference to Dr. Wilke’s opinion
based on her well-supported findings and her lengthy, extensive treatment
relationship with Crose.
2. The ALJ erred in failing to credit much of Crose’s testimony regarding
her pain and mental health impairments. The ALJ’s reasons for rejecting Crose’s
testimony were not “specific, clear and convincing.” Garrison v. Colvin, 759 F.3d
995, 1015 (9th Cir. 2014) (internal quotation marks omitted).
First, the ALJ suggested that Crose’s ability to engage in daily
activities—such as caring for children, caring for pets, performing household
chores, and communicating and socializing with friends—undermined the
credibility of her testimony regarding her physical and mental limitations.
However, the ALJ discounted other evidence—including recurrent panic attacks,
hallucinations of ghosts, trouble sleeping more than two hours a night, and
flashbacks related to childhood sexual abuse—indicating limitations in Crose’s
ability to engage in daily activities. Thus, the ALJ’s finding that Crose was able to
perform some daily activities was not a clear and convincing reason for
discrediting Crose’s testimony regarding her overall limitations. See Diedrich v.
Berryhill, 874 F.3d 634, 642–43 (9th Cir. 2017).
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The ALJ’s finding that Crose failed to adequately pursue mental health
counseling and comply with treatment was also not a clear and convincing reason
to discredit Crose’s testimony. As we have explained, “it is a questionable practice
to chastise one with a mental impairment for the exercise of poor judgment in
seeking rehabilitation.” Garrison, 759 F.3d at 1018 n.24 (internal quotation marks
omitted).
Finally, the ALJ’s findings of inconsistencies in Crose’s reports to
physicians and of her possible interest in secondary gain were not specific, clear,
and convincing reasons for rejecting her testimony. Crose’s reports to numerous
physicians over an eight-year period were consistent on the whole, and there was
no clear evidence supporting Crose’s interest in secondary gain.
3. The ALJ improperly rejected the conclusion of Dr. Toews and
improperly decided that Crose’s impairments did not equal Listing 12.04(C). 20
C.F.R., pt. 404, subpt. P, app. 1 § 12.04(C). Dr. Toews recommended the 12.04(C)
listing after considering the combination of Crose’s physical and mental
impairments. The ALJ rejected the recommendation because he did not believe
that Dr. Toews, a psychologist, was qualified to evaluate Crose’s physical
limitations. However, the ALJ overlooked the complex interactions between
physical and mental impairments that resulted from Crose’s somatoform disorder.
Page 5 of 5
As a psychologist, Dr. Toews was qualified to opine on these complex interactions
between Crose’s physical and mental health symptoms. Additionally, Dr. Toews’s
conclusions were supported by Dr. Wilke’s opinion and Crose’s testimony, both of
which had been improperly discounted by the ALJ. Thus, the ALJ erred in
rejecting Dr. Toews’s opinion that Crose’s impairments met Listing 12.04(C), and
in concluding that Crose was not disabled.
4. We exercise our discretion to remand for an award of benefits. At nearly
three thousand pages, the record is fully developed, and further proceedings would
not be useful. See Garrison, 759 F.3d at 1020. When credited as true, the
improperly weighed evidence—Crose’s testimony and the medical opinions of Dr.
Wilke and Dr. Toews—establishes that Crose is disabled. See id. We therefore
reverse and remand for an award of benefits.
REVERSED and REMANDED.