RECENT SIGNIFICANT CASE LAW EXCERPTS
WHICH PERTAIN TO CFIDS/ FIBROMYALGIA
Case citations
are provided as a reference. Case name is underlined. Next listed is volume of
book and page number (i.e., volume 975 of Federal Supplement, page 84). In
parenthesis appears the case jurisdiction and year. Any librarian at your local
law library will be pleased to provide assistance in finding the particular
case. You should also inquire as to subsequent case law which may extend or
negate the judicial ruling.
Hallgring v.
Callahan,
975 F.Supp. 84 (D.Mass. 1997)
The
Administrative Law Judge's reliance on the absence of abnormal laboratory and
physical findings in claimant's medical history violates Social Security
Administration policy with respect to Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. The SSA has
accepted that "there is no dipstick laboratory test for Chronic Fatigue
Syndrome…so the disease is not per se excluded from coverage because it cannot
be conclusively diagnosed in a laboratory setting." (citing Rose v.
Shalala, 34 F.3d 13, 17 (1st Cir. 1994); Sisco v. Department of Health
and Human Services, 10 F.3d 739, 744 (10th Cir. 1993)).
Powell v.
Charter,
959 F. Supp. 1238 (C.D.Cal. 1997)
A diagnosis of
CFS does not conflict with the consulting physician's diagnosis of
Fibromyalgia. Both impairments share common features and are often confused.
Fragale v.
Chater,
916 F.Supp. 249 (W.D.N.Y. 1996)
A
claimant's credibility in assessing his or her own residual functional capacity
should be given increased significance by both the Social Security
Administration and Administrative Law Judge.
Rose v.
Shalala,
34 F.3d 13 (1st Cir. 1994)
Because
CFS is diagnosed through a process of elimination, it IS NOT unusual for a
claimant to have an extended medical history before the diagnosis is reached
(emphasis added). An Administrative Law Judge would err in dismissing a
complaint due to the lack of objective findings.
Irwin v. Shalala, 840 F.Supp. 751 (D.Or. 1993)
The
Administrative Law Judge's observation that the claimant demonstrated no sign
of fatigue during her hearing is irrelevant for a determination of whether she
could work on a regular and continuing basis. The fact that adrenaline gives
the claimant enough energy to remain alert and focused for an hour and a half
under hearing conditions says nothing about her ability to function daily in a
work setting.
Cohen v.
Secretary, Department of Health and Human Services, 964 F.2d 524 (6th Cir.
1992)
The
Social Security Act is a remedial statute which must be liberally applied; its
intent is inclusion rather than exclusion (citing Marcus v. Califano,
615 F.2d 23, 29 (2nd Cir. 1979)).
Reed v. Secretary of Health and Human Services, 804 F. Supp. 914
(E.D.Mich. 1992)
Because
the methods for diagnosing CFS are limited, the importance of the credibility
findings of the claimant's testimony are enhanced.