Blaine Lloyd Latham v. Kilolo Kijakazi

I. BACKGROUND

Plaintiff applied for benefits on December 16, 2019, alleging disability beginning on April 1, 2016. See Dkt. 12, Administrative Record (“AR”) 179- 89.2 His claims were denied at the initial level on October 23, 2020, and upon

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. 2 Citations to the AR are to the record pagination. All other docket reconsideration on February 17, 2021. See AR 48-57, 59-75, 98-104. He received a hearing before an ALJ on November 10, 2021. See AR 29-47. The ALJ issued an unfavorable decision on November 24, 2021. See AR 12-28. The ALJ followed the five-step sequential evaluation process for determining whether an individual is disabled. See 20 C.F.R. § 416.920(a). At step one, the ALJ found that Plaintiff had not engaged in substantial gainful activity since his application date. See AR 17. At step two, the ALJ found that Plaintiff had the following severe impairments: “venous stasis dermatitis; congestive heart failure (CHF); hypertension; and…