Irene M. COOPER, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. Louis M. SULLIVAN, Secretary of Health and Human Services, Defendant-Appellee

Appellant, Irene Cooper, applied for Social Security disability insurance benefits on November 10, 1983, claiming that she has been disabled since November 11, 1980 due to an accident she suffered at work. Her application was denied by the Administrative Law Judge (“AU”) on January 31, 1985. Mrs. Cooper then timely filed a request for review of the AU’s decision with the Appeals Council, which denied the request. The AU’s decision thus became the final decision of the Secretary.

Mrs. Cooper then sought review in the United States District Court for the Central District of California. Both parties filed motions for summary judgment. The district court granted judgment in favor of the Secretary of Health and Human Services and entered its order on June 18, 1987. This appeal timely followed. Mrs. Cooper contends that the Secretary’s decision to deny benefits was not supported by substantial evidence and that the AU committed reversible legal error by failing to apply the Medical-Vocational Guidelines (“the grids”), 20 C.F.R. Part 404, Subpart P, Appendix 2. We agree.

STATEMENT OF FACTS

Mrs. Cooper is currently 62 years old, has a high school education and previously worked as a…