Valentine v. Richardson, 8573 Civ.
| Decision Date | 17 February 1971 |
| Docket Number | No. 8573 Civ.,8573 Civ. |
| Citation | 324 F. Supp. 206 |
| Parties | Nina L. VALENTINE, Plaintiff, v. Elliott RICHARDSON, Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare, United States, Defendant. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — District of New Mexico |
Robert M. Schwartz, Albuquerque, N. M., for plaintiff.
Victor R. Ortega, U. S. Atty., Albuquerque, N. M., for defendant.
This matter has come on for consideration on defendant's Motion for Summary Judgment and plaintiff's Reply to Defendant's Motion for Summary Judgment.
Plaintiff, Nina L. Valentine, has brought this action to review the final decision of the Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare that she is not entitled to disability benefits under the Social Security Act because she has failed to establish that she was disabled within the meaning of the Act on or before September 30, 1962, when she last met the special earnings requirements of the Social Security Act for disability purposes.
Plaintiff claims that she became unable to work in October, 1959 due to arthritis of the spine.
The issue to be decided on this review is whether the Secretary's final decision is supported by substantial evidence as required by Section 205(g) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. § 405(g).
A review of the record reflects a failure to resolve certain inconsistencies relating to plaintiff's medical history which may have been prejudicial to her claim. In a Disability Determination and Transmittal dated May 19, 1969 (Exhibit No. 2) reference is made to information furnished in response to a telephone inquiry from Dr. Hensley Johnson, brother of plaintiff's physician Dr. Miles Johnson, regarding Dr. Miles Johnson's records of his treatment of plaintiff. Dr. Hensley Johnson reported that his brother first saw plaintiff in 1961 and did not see her again until 1966 (Exhibit No. 11). It appears that this information was considered by the hearing examiner in concluding that plaintiff was not under a disability in 1959.
The information provide by Dr. Hensley Johnson was also considered in affirming denial of plaintiff's claim in the Disability Determination and Transmittal dated October 15, 1969 (Exhibit No. 5). The hearing examiner noted that Dr. Johnson had been treating plaintiff since 1961 but stated "However, it is noted that he (Dr. Miles Johnson) did not see her, the applicant, from 1961 to 1966".
The record includes a letter from Dr. Miles Johnson dated September 23, 1969 (Exhibit No. 17)...
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Claim of Bromley, 9878
...exist in the same medical report the agency has the initial responsibility to attempt to resolve the inconsistencies. Valentine v. Richardson, 324 F.Supp. 206 (D.N.M.1971), aff'd after remand, 468 F.2d 588 (10th Cir. In Valentine the issue was whether or not the Secretary's decision that th......
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Valentine v. Richardson, 72-1151.
...that Valentine had failed to prove she was disabled. She was denied any benefits. The Appeals Council denied review. The District Court, 324 F.Supp. 206, remanded the case for additional evidence. The Appeals Council then reaffirmed its former Valentine was 60 years old at the time of the s......
- Rubin v. Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Company, Civ. A. No. 71-196.