Judge William Kuntz
Construction worker Kane was unable to work due to spinal and shoulder injuries after a fall at work. He unsuccessfully appealed denial of social security disability benefits. Under 42 USC §405(g) Kane claimed the Commissioner of Social Security improperly denied his application. District court remanded Kane’s action to the Social Security Administration. In finding Kane not disabled because he had residual functional capacity to perform light work as defined by 20 CFR 404.1567(b), the administrative law judge (ALJ) did not apply the treating physician rule. In assessing Kane’s credibility, the ALJ improperly rejected Kane’s description of his pain and the extent of his impairments. As to the treating physician rule, the ALJand thus the commissionererroneously found that one of Kane’s doctors found him "moderately" disabled when in fact that doctor consistently found Kane "temporarily totally disabled" in every medical report since September 2008. With respect to Kane’s credibility, the court determined that criteria mandated by federal regulation were not applied. Nor had the effect of continuous pain treatmentincluding numerous medications, epidural injections and facet blockson his creditability been determined.
