U.S. District Court, Western District of New York, Case Summaries:

Daily Record (Rochester, NY), Oct 17, 2008

Social Security

Pettey v. Astrue

07-CV-6428

Judge Larimer

Background: The plaintiff's application for SSI benefits was denied and he seeks judicial review of the denial. The plaintiff first made the claim of disability in 1999 due to depression, posttraumatic stress disorder, panic disorder and emphysema/asthma.

Ruling: The court finds that the record upon which the denial was based is incomplete and inadequate. The case is remanded for the purpose of gathering additional medical records and reports. The court notes that a hearing on disability benefits is a non- adversarial proceeding and the ALJ has an affirmative obligation to develop the administrative record. In the matter at hand, no treatment notes, functional capacity reports or other relevant records were included and no evidence specific to the plaintiff's alleged functional limitations ever was gathered.

Howard D. Olinsky of Olinsky & Shurtliff LLP for the plaintiff, and John J. Field, U.S. Attorney's Office, for the defendant.