Astrue

Stone v. Astrue

Good Law
303 F. App'x 394
United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth CircuitDecember 10, 2008No. 07-35028California463 words

Opinion

lead Opinion

MEMORANDUM **

Jason Stone appeals the district court’s affirmance of the Commisioner’s denial of his application for disability benefits. We have jurisdiction pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 405 (g), and we affirm the denial of benefits.

We review the district court’s decision de novo. Bayliss v. Barnhart, 427 F.3d 1211 , 1214 n. 1 (9th Cir.2005). The standard of review for the ALJ’s decision is whether it was supported by substantial evidence and free of legal error. 42 U.S.C. § 405 (g); Richardson v. Perales, 402 U.S. 389, 401 , 91 S.Ct. 1420 , 28 L.Ed.2d 842 (1971).

Stone argues that the ALJ erred by accepting the opinions of a consulting psychologist, Dr. Patrick, instead of the opinions of Stone’s treating doctor, Dr. Redfern. However, the record reflects that the ALJ in fact accepted nearly all of Dr. Redfern’s opinions. For instance, despite some evidence to the contrary, the ALJ accepted Dr. Redfern’s opinion regarding Stone’s fibromyalgia. Moreover, partial reliance on Dr. Patrick’s opinions was proper given the fact that many of the doctors who examined Stone, including Dr. Redfern himself, observed that Stone’s symptoms were likely related to psychological issues. To the…

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