Green-Younger v. Barnhart

Nina Green-Younger applied for Social Security disability benefits, claiming she was disabled due to severe pain caused by her fibromyalgia, degenerative disc disease, chronic lower-back pain, and neuropathy associated with the back pain. Green-Younger submitted medical records from her treating physician of over three years to support her claim. The records detailed the physician’s unsuccessful treatment attempts, including referrals to specialists who confirmed Green-Younger’s diagnoses, and the physician’s conclusion that Green-Younger was disabled in accordance with Social Security regulations. The treating physician’s opinion was that Green-Younger’s impairments severely limited her ability to work because she could not stand or sit for more than four hours per day, for 30-minute intervals, with 60-minute breaks between intervals. After initial denial and upon reconsideration, an administrative-law judge (ALJ) decided that Green-Younger was not disabled, finding that she had the residual functional capacity to perform her prior work. A vocational expert testified that if Green-Younger’s impairments caused the limitations that she claimed, Green-Younger could not perform her prior work or any other work in the national economy. However, the ALJ found that Green-Younger’s evidence and testimony lacked credibility because two of the administration’s consulting physicians opined that Green-Younger could sit and stand longer than claimed because there was no evidence of motor-function deficits or significant arthritis. The ALJ’s decision became the final decision of the Commissioner of the Social Security Administration, Jo Anne Barnhart (defendant). Green-Younger sought judicial review in a United States district court, where the commissioner’s decision was affirmed. Green-Younger appealed.