Jasim Ghanim v. Carolyn W. Colvin

I. BACKGROUND

A. Ghanim’s personal and medical history

Ghanim immigrated to the United States in 1994 as a refugee from Iraq, where he had been imprisoned and tortured for two years. He worked consistently from 1994 to 2009 in a variety of jobs. In 2009, Ghanim’s brother, who lived in Iraq and worked with the United States military, was killed. Ghanim was deeply affected by his brother’s death; he had nightmares and trouble sleeping, became very forgetful, and frequently felt unsafe and hopeless. After his brother’s death, Ghanim stopped working.

1. Treating providers

In July 2009, Ghanim began receiving counseling and psychiatric care, first at Highpoint Medical Clinic and then at Harborview Medical Center. At Harborview Medical Center, Ghanim met with several different medical professionals, including Christine Elizabeth Youdelis-Flores, M.D., Nina Spellman Geiger, ARNP, Lawrence McCann, LICSW, and John Blatchford, LICSW. All of these individuals met with Ghanim several times over the course of his treatment. Their treatment notes reflect both ongoing psychological impairment—including depression, difficulty sleeping, nightmares, nervousness, memory loss, and anger—and some…

dissenting:

Ghanim doesn’t allege a physical disability — he claims to suffer from sleeplessness, recurring nightmares and depression. These aren’t the kind of symptoms that are subject to clinical observations. We’d expect a treatment provider to rely heavily on self-reporting in evaluating such claims, and that’s exactly what happened here.

The ALJ didn’t put much stock in that self-reporting because he doubted Ghan-im’s credibility — and with good reason. Claims of depression are often made in fraudulent disability applications because they’re easy to fake: Applicants can be taught “how to intentionally fail memory tests, how to dress ... and how to present their demeanor.” Pervaiz Shallwani & Damian Paletta, Ex-Cops, Firefighters Charged with Disability Fraud, Wall St. J., Jan. 8, 2014, at A2. This is a serious— and costly — problem of which many appellate judges seem blissfully oblivious.

Ghanim’s story was riddled with inconsistencies. At the hearing, Ghanim painted a picture of himself as a recluse who couldn’t lead a normal life due to his mental illness. He said he was unable to cook for himself or do his own laundry and only went outside when accompanied by his…

Jasim Abo Abi Shalash Abo Ghanim appeals from the district court’s judgment affirming the Social Security Commissioner’s denial of his application for Disability Insurance Benefits and Supplemental Security Income. In denying Ghanim’s application for benefits, the Administrative Law Judge (“ALJ”) rejected the opinions of Ghanim’s treating physician and other treating providers as to the severity of his impairments. The ALJ also found Ghan-im’s testimony about the severity of his symptoms not credible. On reconsideration, the Social Security Administration (“SSA”) concluded that Ghanim was disabled after all, but determined that the onset date for his disability was March 28, 2012, rather than April 5, 2009, as Ghanim originally alleged. At issue here is only whether Ghanim is entitled to benefits for the intervening period. We hold that the weight the ALJ accorded to Ghanim’s treating providers and the ALJ’s adverse credibility determination are not supported by substantial evidence. We therefore reverse and remand for further proceedings.

I. BACKGROUND

A. Ghanim’s personal and medical history

Ghanim immigrated to the United States in 1994 as a refugee from Iraq, where…