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Sunday, August 21st, 2016

ALJ Relies On Disgraced “Medical Expert”

When a Social Security Disability (“SSD”) claimant has a hearing, the administrative law judge (“ALJ”) can schedule a “medical expert” “(ME”) to provide testimony. According to the Social Security Administration’s “Medical Expert Handbook,”

The ALJ will ask you questions before you testify to establish your independence and impartiality, and your medical qualifications and competence to testify. If the ALJ does not already have it, you should provide him or her with a written résumé or curriculum vitae summarizing your experience and background which the ALJ will enter into the case record as evidence. The ALJ will also ask you whether the résumé or curriculum vitae is accurate and up to date, and will likely ask you whether you are familiar with applicable SSA regulations and other rules. The ALJ will also ask the claimant and his or her representative, if any, whether they object to your testifying.

It is imperative that you investigate the background of any ME who is scheduled to testify at your hearing.

I represent a 59 year old former respiratory therapist with cardiovascular problems. ALJ Weiss denied the claimant’s SSD application today based on the opinion of a disgraced ME, Steven L. Shilling, who testified that the claimant could work.

Prior to the hearing, Shilling submitted a resume that only went up to the year 2012. Even though the hearing was taking place in 2016, and the ALJ was obligated to ask Shilling whether his résumé was accurate and up to date, the ALJ conspicuously failed to do so. In light of the glaring gap in Shilling’s resume, I asked him if it was accurate and up to date, to which he said no. At that point, despite ALJ Weiss’s inexplicable recalcitrance, I insisted that I be supplied with a current resume.

It was no accident that Shilling had supplied an out of date resume –it was an attempt to cover up his protracted history of professional misconduct. One can only wonder why ALJ Weiss initially did not want to compel Shilling to provide a current resume as required by the Social Security rules.

After Shilling faxed his current resume for cross examination, I noticed that there was a two year employment gap, and then he claimed that he was simultaneously doing seven (7) jobs since 2014, including serving as an ME for the SSA. After questioning him about those seven jobs, it turns out that he had not actually worked at several of them. It is my understanding that it is illegal to submit documents to a federal agency that contains false information. More importantly, it shows that Shilling is dishonest.

After learning Shilling was dishonest about his work history, I proceeded to ask him if his resume was accurate about where he went to school, where he trained, and that he was triple board certified, all of which he confirmed. Both of his resumes stated that he was board certified in Internal Medicine, Cardiovascular Medicine, and Interventional Cardiology. According to the resume he had submitted, his education was completed in 1994, and from 1994 to 2012 was in private practice with “Cardiac Associates” as a cardiologist. When I asked what month in 2012 he stopped working there he said March, for “a lot of different reasons.” When I asked him what the reasons were, he simply reiterated what he had just said, and refused to give a specific reason.

I gave the ALJ a copy of the information provided by Healthgrades to mark as an Exhibit. I asked Shilling if the information from Healthgrades about where he went to school, did his residency, and then his fellowship were accurate, he stated that it was. I then stated that according to Healthgrades the State Medical Board found him guilty of professional misconduct on April 12, 2013, and asked if that was also true. He said yes, but claimed that his professional misconduct had nothing to do with his leaving Cardiac Associates after 2012.

Next, I gave the ALJ a copy of some pages from the December 2012 TMB Bulletin, the newsletter of the Texas Medical Board, to mark as an Exhibit. According to the TMB Bulletin, disciplinary action was taken against Shilling on October 9, 2012 because of his use of drugs and alcohol in an intemperate manner that could endanger patients. I asked if that was related to why he stopped working at Cardiac Associate, but Shilling claimed it was not. When I asked Shilling what he recalled about that misconduct, he said something about having a glass of wine with his lunch and then going back to work.

Next, I gave the ALJ a copy of an article from the April 23, 2013 Houston News to mark as an Exhibit. According to that newspaper article, while the Medical Board took action on April 12, 2013 against Shilling, it said that he had surrendered hospital privileges in 2010. When I asked Shilling if he ever got them back, he said no. When I asked him why he surrendered privileges back in 2010, he admitted that it was a prior instance of substance abuse. The Houston News article also stated that Shilling was not practicing medicine, and had no plans to return to practice. When I asked him if that was why he never worked after Cardiac Associates to work, he again denied that there was any connection.

Next, I gave the ALJ a copy of an article from the October 25, 2012 Dallas Morning News to mark as an Exhibit. According to the Dallas Morning News, “The medical board recently asked an administrative law judge to authorize discipline of the doctor.” It said Shilling “admitted to consuming alcohol” before going to the Irving hospital in 2010, “has a history” of drunken driving charges, “has been in treatment for prescription medication abuse” and “continues to drink presently.” Shilling conceded that the 2010 misconduct was independent of the 2012 misconduct.

Next, I gave the ALJ a copy of the printout from a search done on the American Board of Medical Specialties (“ABMS”) website to mark as an Exhibit. I noted that Shilling had testified just a few minutes earlier that he was triple board certified. I asked him what was the American Board of Medical Specialties, and Shilling stated it was the organization that certified physicians. When I asked Shilling if he could explain why, according to the ABMS, he was not board certified in any field, he admitted that he was no longer board certified in Internal Medicine or Interventional Cardiology, but claimed he was board certified in Cardiology. However, he was unable to explain why the ABMS stated that he was not, other than surmising that they Ddid not have his updated paperwork, even though two years had passed.

Finally, I gave the ALJ a copy of the Agreed Order, dated April 12, 2013 signed by Shilling and the Texas Medical Board for the ALJ to enter as an Exhibit. That was the only document from the cross examination that the ALJ marked as an Exhibit. HALLEX I-2—1-20(B)(3) states that when an ALJ issues an unfavorable decision, he is required to provide a finalized exhibit list “to protect the claimant’s due process rights. The claimant is entitled to know the information the ALJ relied on when making the decision.”

ALJ Weiss violated the claimant’s Due Process rights by purposely purging from the exhibits the evidence that I submitted to him, and used during the cross examination of Shilling. The ALJ was obviously trying to mitigate the evidence relating to the reliability of Shilling’s opinion because it served as the sole basis for the ALJ’s denial. The ALJ’s reliance was particularly insidious because federal courts have warned him before that he cannot rely on the opinions of MEs to deny claims.

In sum Shilling and the ALJ wanted me to rely on an outdated resume, which would have failed to reflect a two year gap in Shilling’s work history. That gap, which was readily evident in the current resume, obviously invited questioning for its existence. That questioning inevitably should have led the discovery of Shilling’s history of professional misconduct, and his exaggerating his qualifications to over compensate for his failings. Shilling’s testimony is tainted by financial conflict of interest because he is dependent on making a living as a consultant. The ALJ evidenced complicity in Shilling’s deception by refusing to mark the cross examination evidence as exhibits in order to bolster his decision to deny the claimant benefits based upon Shilling’s opinion. Similarly, the ALJ refused to require Shilling to produce his tax records, which would have established his dependence on income from testifying as an ME.

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    • Subpoena Leads to SSD Award for Rheumatoid Arthritis
    • Another CE Problem
  • November (4)
    • CIGNA Bad Faith Affirmed
    • Walking Time Bomb
    • Three Heads Are Better Than One
    • Power Restored
  • October (7)
    • Appeals Council Remands
    • Social Security & The Presidential Election
    • SSD Claimants Need To Review Their Efolders
    • Firefighter Awarded SSD
    • Obesity & Disability
    • Videotaping IMA Consultative Examinations
    • Biased Hoppenfeld Decision Reversed
  • September (4)
    • Ileocolic Resection
    • ALJ Bias Overcome
    • Updating Medical Evidence
    • Should I Take Early Retirement?
  • August (9)
    • IMA Disability Services
    • Carpenter Wins SSD For Wrong Reason
    • Padro ALJ Bias Class Action To Be Settled
    • Binder & Binder Replaced
    • If at first …
    • IMA Disability Services
    • The Office of Medical and Vocational Expertise
    • Newsday Article
    • The SSD “12 Month Rule”
  • July (6)
    • Medical Expert Interrogatories
    • Patchogue Ineptitude
    • Emphasizing Work History
    • Reopening Disability Applications
    • What is NY Waiting For?
    • When Objective Evidence Isn't Enough
  • June (10)
    • Disability Benefits For Nurse
    • Bench Decision
    • Hearing Avoided
    • Disability Pension Award From Union
    • IMA Exams In New York
    • AARP On SSD
    • How Much Will Social Security Pay You?
    • SSD & Unemployment Benefits
    • State Agency-IMA Bad Faith Tactics
    • Why Bother With An Exam By IMA?
  • May (14)
    • Workers Compensation & SSD
    • Hoppenfeld Bias
    • Veteran Gets SSD for Memorial Day
    • Vocational Evidence
    • Establishing Mental Disability
    • IMA Exam Is Not Required
    • Postherpetic Neuralgia
    • Multiple Sclerosis
    • Disabling AION
    • Proof of Birth for SSD
    • Corroboration is not Superfluous
    • Social Security Listings
    • CIGNA CONTINUES ILLEGAL CONDUCT
    • Fast SSD Approvals
  • April (9)
    • Impaired Use of Hands
    • Representative Payee
    • Onset Appeal
    • Amending SSD Onset Date
    • State Agency Vocational Experts
    • Causation and Social Security Disability Benefits
    • Alport Syndrome
    • David Nisnewitz Found Unfit To Be ALJ Again
    • Reopening SSD Applications
  • March (6)
    • Another Example of ALJ Fier's Bias
    • Physician Specialty
    • Medical Source Statements
    • Podiatrists and Disability Benefits
    • Retaining Social Security Experts
    • Transparent Hoppenfeld Bias
  • February (7)
    • State Agency Disability Analysts
    • SSD & WC
    • SSA Should Reimburse Travel
    • Disability Benefits For Carpenter
    • Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
    • SSD Approved in Two Months
    • Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy
  • January (7)
    • Veterans Medical Source Statements
    • Disabled by Schizophrenia
    • Receiving SSD Benefits and an Income
    • Vocational Credibility
    • SSD For Police Officer
    • Kienbock's Disease
    • Patchogue Incompetence
  • 2011 (89)
  • December (4)
    • Binder and Binder
    • Appeals Council Doltishness
    • NYCERS Disability Pension
    • Can You Receive SSD If You Have Income?
  • November (6)
    • Rheumatoid Arthritis
    • Multiple Impairments
    • Adverse Evidence
    • Cerebrovascular Accident & SSD
    • Was A Video Hearing Needed?
    • NOSSCR Conference
  • October (7)
    • SSD Approved in 2 Weeks
    • SSD Approved In 2 Months
    • Disability and Diabetes
    • Social Security Benefit Increase
    • Vocational Experts
    • IMA Consultative Examinations
    • Hoppenfeld & The Rotation Policy
  • September (9)
    • Alzheimer’s
    • Federal Court Reassigns Nisnewitz Case
    • Approval After Federal Court Remand
    • Abusive Hoppenfeld Conduct
    • Rheumatoid Arthritis
    • SSD Overpayments
    • LTD Approved In Less Than A Month
    • Maximizing Disability Benefits
    • Mixed Connective Tissue Disease
  • August (7)
    • When To Amend The Disability Onset Date
    • Right To Cross Examine Post Hearing Experts
    • Commissioner’s Statement Is Offensive
    • Gilding the Lily
    • SSD Approved in 2.5 Months
    • When to File for SSD
    • Disability & Incontinence
  • July (11)
    • Hoppenfeld Fibromyalgia Bias
    • On The Record Requests
    • LTD Approved In Two Months
    • Work History
    • Relocating While Disabled
    • Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
    • Getting Disability Benefits Quickly
    • SSD Approved in 3 Months
    • SSD Approved In Two Months
    • SSD & WC Offset
    • Disability Analysts
  • June (7)
    • Federal Court Decision
    • Social Security Depravity
    • Depression and Anxiety
    • Fully Favorable Appeals Council Order
    • Erythema Multiform Major
    • SSD in Three Months
    • Lincoln Life Pays LTD Benefits
  • May (8)
    • Acquiring Work Skills
    • Court Rejects CIGNA LTD Termination
    • Disability Benefits & Substance Abuse
    • Endometriosis
    • SSD Approved In 2 Months
    • Raising The Retirement Age
    • No More Paper Checks
    • Treating Doctors
  • April (11)
    • SSA Prehearing
    • Disability Redefined
    • Consultative Examinations
    • Evidence of Hoppenfeld Bias
    • ALJ Nisnewitz Rejected Again
    • ALJ Bias Class Action
    • Working And SSD
    • ALJ Bias In Queens
    • Federal Court Decision
    • ALJ Strauss Rejected Again
    • Seven Year Wait Over
  • March (8)
    • Lyme Disease
    • ALJ Strauss Reversed Again
    • Remand To A New ALJ
    • “Secret” Child’s Benefits
    • Unfair CIGNA Tactics Detailed
    • LTD Policy Offsets
    • Partially Favorable Decisions
    • SSD While Working
  • February (9)
    • Expediting Disability Benefits
    • Multiple sclerosis
    • Date Last Insured
    • Radiculopathy
    • Videoconference Hearings
    • Expediting Disability Benefits
    • Patchogue Incompetence
    • Federal Court Decision
    • Union Disability Approved
  • January (2)
    • Does ALJ Strauss Try To Get Reversed?
    • ALJ Fier Unfit To Rehear Case
  • 2010 (75)
  • December (7)
    • SSA Notice of Awards
    • SSA Doctors
    • Protective Filing Date
    • SSA Delays
    • On The Record Requests
    • Dialysis & Disability
    • Disability Opinions & Medical Tests
  • November (7)
    • LTD and SSD
    • CIGNA Sued For Surveillance
    • Attorney Advisors
    • Social Security Doctors
    • Unum Reverses Termination
    • Electronic Records Express
    • Multiple Impairments
  • October (4)
    • Liver Cancer
    • Unum Approves Fibromyalgia Claim
    • Comorbid Conditions
    • “Partially Favorable” Decisions
  • September (6)
    • Income Doesn't Bar Disability Benefits
    • Celiac Disease
    • Proving Disabling Pain
    • EAJA Fees
    • IMA Disability Services
    • Self Employment
  • August (5)
    • Headaches
    • Ankle Injuries
    • Partially Favorable Decisions
    • Bench Decisions
    • Fibromyalgia
  • July (6)
    • Medical Listing Opinions
    • Treatment Records
    • Avoiding SSD Hearings
    • Federal Court Remand
    • The MTA & SSD
    • When Work Doesn’t Count
  • June (7)
    • Gastroparesis
    • Sjogren's Syndrome
    • Benefits After A Federal Court Remand
    • Firefighter Gets SSD Benefits
    • Prudential Approved LTD, For Now
    • Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
    • Getting Benefits While Working
  • May (7)
    • EAJA Fees
    • Stroke
    • New Jersey District Court Remand
    • District Court Remand
    • ALJ Hoppenfeld Overtly Acts Biased
    • Veterans
    • NYCERS & SSD
  • April (8)
    • Medical Evidence and Functionality
    • Deceptive SSA Notices
    • Onset Date
    • Queens ALJs
    • When Can You File For SSD Benefits?
    • Parkinson’s Disease
    • Consultative Exam (“CE”) Ruled Improper
    • EAJA Fees
  • March (5)
    • Consultative Examinations
    • New Office
    • Complaining About Biased ALJs
    • IMA Disability Services
    • Multiple Impairments
  • February (6)
    • NYCERS
    • Primary Care Physicians
    • Social Security Rulings
    • Anxiety
    • Fibromyalgia
    • Retrospective Medical Opinion
  • January (7)
    • Disability For Federal Employees
    • The Grids
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    • Adult Disabled Children
    • Charcot-Marie-Tooth
    • Depression and Anxiety
    • RSD/CRPS
  • 2009 (60)
  • December (5)
    • Getting SSD Even If You Can Work
    • Health Insurance For Children
    • Health Insurance For Children
    • Settling With CIGNA
    • Avoiding An Improper Consultative Exam
  • November (5)
    • Multiple Sclerosis
    • Protective Filing Dates
    • SSD Delays
    • Reopening Past SSD Denial
    • ALJ Strauss’ Reliance On ME Cohen’s Testimony Proves She Is Biased
  • October (7)
    • Listed Impairments
    • Multiple Medical Sources
    • Attorney Advisors
    • Avoiding Consultative Examinations
    • Atypical Parkinson’s
    • Chondromalacia
    • Subpoena The SSA Doctor
  • September (3)
    • Prudential Reverses Fibromyalgia STD & LTD Denial
    • ALJ Nisenewitz: Stupid or Biased?
    • LTD & Health Insurance
  • August (3)
    • Teacher Finally Receives SSD Benefits
    • SSA Consultative Examiners
    • Child’s Benefits
  • July (4)
    • Retrospective Medical Opinions
    • Senior Attorney Adjudicators
    • Medical Improvement
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  • June (4)
    • Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS)
    • Dictionary of Occupational Titles
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  • May (5)
    • Courts Rules CIGNA Is Biased
    • SSD & Taxes
    • ALJ Hoppenfeld Must Be Barred From FMS Cases
    • Don’t Believe Everything You Read
    • On The Record Request
  • April (4)
    • Avoiding SSD Remand Hearing
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    • CIGNA Ordered To Pay For Its Actions
  • March (9)
    • Oops, CIGNA’s Done It Again
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    • Appeals Council Rebukes ALJ Fier
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    • Obama Disability Benefit
  • February (4)
    • SSI Decisions
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  • January (7)
    • Court Blasts CIGNA LTD Benefit Termination
    • Obama and Social Security Benefits
    • “Fully Favorable” Decisions
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    • Notice of Dismissal
    • Initial SSA Decisions
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  • 2008 (70)
  • December (5)
    • Unum Cases In New York
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  • November (5)
    • Depression & OCD
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    • Best Medical Evidence
    • Appeals Council Remand
  • October (6)
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    • Applicaiton Filing Date
    • Representing Yourself
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    • Vertigo
    • Multiple Impairments
  • September (4)
    • Medicare
    • ALJ Hoppenfeld
    • Fibromyalgia
    • Appeals Council Remand
  • August (8)
    • Myasthenia Gravis
    • More Is Better
    • Disability Benefits & Work
    • SSA Medical Reports
    • Negotiating Disability Benefits
    • Consultative Examinations
    • GMA Exposes CIGNA
    • Work History
  • July (6)
    • Onset and Application Dates
    • Supreme Court Helps LTD Claimants
    • Expediting SSD Cases
    • Two Heads Are Better Than One
    • LTD Litigation
    • Retrospective Medical Opinions
  • June (7)
    • Establishing An Onset Date
    • Field Visit
    • Multiple Attorneys
    • Self Employment
    • Special Accommodations
    • Multiple Disability Benefits
    • Clarifying Objective Evidence
  • May (3)
    • Unum Games
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    • Credit Disability Insurance
  • April (7)
    • “Fully Favorable” Decisions
    • Treating Sources
    • SSD & Mental Disability
    • Using Vocational Evidence To Expedite Benefits
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  • March (3)
    • Objective Evidence
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  • February (9)
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    • Unum Reassessment Loophole
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    • Consultative Examinations
  • January (7)
    • “Accentuate The Positive, Eliminate The Negative”
    • Dire Need
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    • Police Disability
    • Seminar
    • Expediting LTD Benefits
    • Uveitis
  • 2007 (58)
  • December (7)
    • TBI and Vocational Evidence
    • Failure To Receive Notice
    • Mental Disorders
    • Inability To Speak English
    • Discovery In ERISA Cases
    • Don’t Be Intimidated By DDS
    • Multiple Sclerosis
  • November (7)
    • Avoiding Hearings
    • Working Does Not Preclude Benefits
    • Be Wary of Forms
    • Exam Secrets
    • SSD for Firefighter
    • Consultative Examinations
    • Purpose of SSD Hearing
  • October (6)
    • Why Wait?
    • Insurance Department Complaint
    • Overreach For Disability Retirement
    • Vertigo
    • No Objective Testing Required for Chronic Fatigue
    • Non-binding Disability Decision
  • September (3)
    • Always Review Your File
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    • The More The Merrier
  • August (5)
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    • Avoid Early Retirement
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  • July (3)
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    • Constant Vigilance
    • Judges Are Fallible
  • June (4)
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  • February (10)
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