Pamela A. STONE, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Margaret HECKLER, Secretary of Health and Human Services, Defendant-Appellant
Opinion
Opinion
Fletcher, J.
The Secretary appeals from the judgment of the district court reversing the Secretary’s denial of disability benefits to Glen E. Stone, and remanding to the Secretary for further proceedings. We reverse the judgment in light of Heckler v. Campbell, - U.S. -, 103 S.Ct. 1952, 1957 , 76 L.Ed.2d 66 (1983).
ISSUES
1. Whether this is an appeal from a “final order” under 28 U.S.C. § 1291 .
2. Whether the district court erred in ruling that the ALJ must make specific findings that Stone can perform specific jobs and that the Secretary’s reliance on the medical-vocational guidelines was improper.
FACTUAL BACKGROUND
On March 4, 1980, Stone applied for disability benefits. Stone had diabetes and was insulin dependent. He suffered from neopathic joint disease and bone degeneration in his feet. It was expected that the diabetes would lead to renal disease. He has since died. We do not know the cause of death, however, because no brief was filed on his behalf.
The ALJ found that Stone could not perform any of his previous work. The ALJ determined, however, that Stone was able to perform sedentary work and applied the medical-vocational guidelines contained in 20 C.F.R. pt. 404, subpart P,…