Leanna Pruitt v. Commissioner Social Security

MEMORANDUM

Appellant Leanna Jean Pruitt appeals the district court’s order affirming the Administrative Law Judge’s (“ALJ”) denial of her application for disability insurance benefits and widow’s insurance benefits under the Social Security Act. We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291 , and we affirm.

Pruitt contends that the ALJ made harmful errors when he determined that (1)her mental impairments are not severe and (2) her back problems do not meet or equal a listed impairment. She further contends that the ALJ erred by (3) rejecting her allegations that she cannot sit at a desk for a complete workday, (4) rejecting her treating physician’s opinion that she is disabled and incapable of lifting anything, and (5) ignoring a lay witness’s opinion about her limitations. She argues that the aforementioned errors led the ALJ to find incorrectly that Pruitt has a residual functional capacity (“RFC”) that enables her to perform sedentary work, including her past work.

We review de novo the district court’s order affirming the ALJ’s denial of social security benefits; reversing “only if the ALJ’s decision was not supported by substantial evidence in the record as a whole or if the…