Second Circuit: ALJ Could Take Judicial Notice Of AMA Guidelines
Staubley v. Electric Boat Corp., No. 10-3186 (2nd Cir. September 1, 2011) (Summary Order On Petition For Review)
Clyde Staubley sought review of a Benefits Review Board decision affirming an award issued by an administrative law judge (ALJ) under the Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act (LHWCA), 33 U.S.C. §§ 901-950. The ALJ had awarded LHWCA benefits to Staubley for a ten percent permanent impairment of his lungs due to work-related asbestos exposure.
Staubley argued in his petition for review that the ALJ erred by not taking judicial notice of the American Medical Association’s Guides to the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment when deciding his claim for benefits.
The United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit agreed with the Board on the judicial notice issue, namely that the ALJ most likely erred by not taking judicial notice of the Guides.
Because the LHWCA requires that a claimant’s permanent impairment be determined “under the [G]uides,” the court said, it stood to reason that an ALJ could rely on the Guides without the parties first introducing them into the record.
Even so, the court went on to explain, here the ALJ’s error was not prejudicial to Staubley’s case under the facts of record. In particular, the ALJ’s decision not to credit a physician’s medical opinion was supported by substantial evidence irrespective of the ALJ’s failure to take judicial notice of the Guides. Likewise, in her decision the ALJ had accounted for a certain variation in the standards employed by other expert physicians when they evaluated Staubley’s condition. The court thus denied Staubley's petition for review.
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