An Indiana administrative law judge should not have disregarded a Merrillville neurologist’s conclusion that a longtime patient’s brain injuries qualified him for disability, a federal appeals court has ruled.
 
The Seventh Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruled on July 9 that the judge erred by not giving controlling weight to the expert opinion of Richard Cristea, MD, in a claim for disability benefits by one of Dr. Cristea’s patients. According to the appeals court, the judge misinterpreted Dr. Cristea’s medical report; “cherry-picked evidence,” in part by relying on opinions of state-agency physicians who had not examined the patient; and “played doctor” by relying on his own interpretation of the patient’s MRI instead of Dr. Cristea’s.

The Indiana Lawyer has a story on the case. The Seventh Circuit’s opinion supplies additional details on the man’s injuries and the court’s reasoning.