Richard Hanrahan v. Michael Astrue
Opinion
Opinion
MEMORANDUM
Appellant Richard P. Hanrahan (“Hanrahan”) challenges the district court’s judgment affirming Appellee Commissioner of Social Security’s determination that Hanrahan was not disabled. We have jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1291 , and we affirm.
The Administrative Law Judge (“ALJ”) determined that Hanrahan retained the residual functional capacity to perform light work existing in the national economy and was therefore not disabled. The ALJ chose to adopt the treating physician’s and non-examining physician’s conclusions because they accurately reflected the medical evidence. The ALJ gave little weight to the examining physician’s conclusions because he found them unsupported by the diagnostic tests and the treating and non-examining physicians’ assessments.
The ALJ’s statements regarding the medical evidence as it related to the conflicting medical opinions provided a specific and legitimate explanation for rejecting the examining physician’s opinions. See Lester v. Chater, 81 F.3d 821, 830-31 (9th Cir.1995); Andrews v. Shalala, 53 F.3d 1035, 1043 (9th Cir.1995). Therefore, the ALJ’s denial of benefits is supported by substantial evidence in the record.