Melanie A. Gendron v. Nancy A. Berryhill

BACKGROUND

Plaintiff protectively filed an application for SSI on October 27, 2014, alleging disability beginning January 1, 2016. See Dkt. 20, Administrative Record (“AR”) 145-52. After being denied initially, Plaintiff requested a hearing before an Administrative Law Judge (“ALJ”). See AR 86-123. A

1 The Court partially redacts Plaintiff’s name in compliance with Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 5.2(c)(2)(B) and the recommendation of the Committee on Court Administration and Case Management of the Judicial Conference of the United States. hearing was held on July 13, 2017 at which Plaintiff and an impartial vocational expert testified. See AR 36-66. On October 18, 2017, the ALJ issued a written decision finding Plaintiff ineligible for disability benefits. See AR 16- 24. The ALJ found that Plaintiff had not engaged in substantial gainful activity since her application date. See AR 21. The ALJ next found that Plaintiff had the impairments of venous hemangioma/vascular malformation and osteoarthritis of the right hip. See id. However, the ALJ determined that Plaintiff's impairments were not severe because they did not cause more than a slight limitation in her ability to…