Thomas E. McCartey v. Larry G. Massanari, Acting Commissioner of Social Security Administration
Opinion
Opinion
Reinhardt, J.
Thomas E. McCartey appeals from a district court judgment affirming the Commissioner’s decision to deny him Social Security Disability (“SSD”) benefits. One of the grounds urged by McCartey for reversal of the Commissioner’s decision is that the ALJ erred in rejecting his SSD application without considering the finding of the Department of Veterans Affairs (“VA”) that McCartey was unable to work due to disability. We agree and therefore reverse and remand.
I
McCartey’s' disability stems from a workplace accident in 1987, in which a 100 pound door fell on him and injured his lower back. Although McCartey returned to work after the accident, by 1991 his lower back pain had grown so intense that he could no longer work. Around that time, McCartey’s previously extant depression worsened considerably, and he began to suffer from a host of other ailments. On June 3, 1997, the VA granted McCar-tey a nonservice-connected pension after finding that he was “unable to secure and follow a substantially gainful occupation” due to disability. The VA gave McCartey a total disability rating of 80%, based primarily on his depression and secondarily on his lower back injury.