Sanders v. Commissioner of Social Security ( 2022 )

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT WESTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON 9 SEATTLE DIVISION 10 WANDA J. SANDERS, Civil No. 2:21-CV-00929-MAT 11 Plaintiff, 12 vs. ORDER 13 COMMISSIONER OF SOCIAL SECURITY, 14 Defendant. 15 Based on the stipulation of the parties, it is ORDERED that the Commissioner’s decision 16 in regard to Plaintiff’s application for benefits under Title II and Title XVI of the Social Security 17 Act be REVERSED and REMANDED to the Commissioner of Social Security for further 18 administrative proceedings. Upon remand, the Appeals Council will instruct the Administrative 19 Law Judge to: 20 • Re-evaluate Plaintiff’s impairments, especially fibromyalgia, migraines, and hand 21 conditions at step two and step three, with the assistance of expert medical testimony; 22 • Further evaluate the medical evidence; 23 • Reassess Plaintiff’s residual functional capacity, taking into account all severe and non- 24 severe impairments; 1 • Reevaluate Plaintiff’s subjective symptom testimony and lay witness statement; 2 • Proceed with the remaining steps of the sequential evaluation process, obtaining a 3 vocational expert testimony, as necessary; and 4 • Offer Plaintiff an opportunity for a hearing, address additional evidence submitted at the 5 Appeals Council, take any action necessary to further develop the record, and issue a 6 decision. 7 This Court hereby reverses the Commissioner’s decision under sentence four of 42 8 U.S.C. § 405(g) with a remand of the case to the Commissioner for further administrative 9 proceedings. See Melkonyan v. Sullivan, 501 U.S. 89 (1991). 10 11 DATED this 4th day of January, 2022. 12 13 A 14 15 MARY ALICE THEILER United States Magistrate Judge 16 17 18 Presented by: 19 s/ Shata L. Stucky 20 SHATA L. STUCKY Special Assistant United States Attorney 21 Office of the General Counsel Social Security Administration 22 701 Fifth Avenue, Suite 2900 M/S 221A Seattle, WA 98104-7050 23 Telephone: (206) 615-2909 Fax: (206) 615-2531 24 shata.stucky@ssa.gov