Duncan v. U.S. Railroad Retirement Bd.

Federal 7th Circuit Court
Civil Court
Railroad Retirement Act
Citation
Case Number: 
No. 14-2222
Decision Date: 
May 20, 2015
Federal District: 
Petition for Review, Order of Railroad Retirement Bd.
Holding: 
Affirmed
Record contained sufficient evidence to support Bd.’s denial of plaintiff’s application for disability annuity under Railroad Retirement Act that was based on 2003 workplace injury, even though plaintiff claimed that pain in his back prevented him from working. While plaintiff’s treating physicians gave opinions indicating that plaintiff could not perform even sedentary work, Bd. could properly discount said opinions, where vocational consultant testified that plaintiff could perform variety of light or sedentary skilled jobs, and where objective medical evidence indicated that plaintiff’s pain improved with medicine, and that plaintiff had normal gait, muscle strength and sensation. Bd. could also discount plaintiff’s complaints of disabling pain, where plaintiff gave inconsistent statements regarding improvement he experienced with medicine, and where recent MRIs of plaintiff indicated no abnormalities.