Donald E. EMBREY, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. Otis R. BOWEN, Secretary of Health and Human Services, Defendant-Appellee

The claimant, Donald Embrey, appealed to the district court the decision of the Secretary of Health and Human Services denying his application for Social Security disability benefits. The district court granted summary judgment for the Secretary, affirming the administrative decision. We reverse the district court and remand the case to the Secretary for further proceedings.

FACTS AND PROCEEDINGS BELOW

Donald Embrey was born in 1935 and completed twelve years of schooling. He has worked in various capacities in the hospital equipment repair business. In 1979, Embrey suffered a heart attack. He was hospitalized for chest pains in May of 1982 and, while hospitalized, sustained a second heart attack. He underwent quadruple coronary bypass surgery in July of 1982. Embrey also suffers from back problems: he was operated on for a ruptured disc in 1969 or 1970 and in recent years has experienced increasing pain in his back, hips, and legs. Embrey has also been diagnosed as suffering from diabetes mellitus.

Embrey stopped working in April of 1982, shortly before his hospitalization, because of his medical problems. He remained on his employer’s payroll until February of 1983, when he…