Rosa v. Bowen

677 F. Supp. 782 (1988)

Facts

P is a fifty-year-old woman.  On August 12, 1982, she entered the hospital with rectal bleeding, abdominal cramps, and weakness. She was diagnosed as suffering from ulcerative colitis and uncontrolled diabetes mellitus. Since her hospitalization in 1982, P has not returned to work. P filed for disability insurance benefits and supplemental security income on December 20, 1982. The Secretary, Bowen (D), denied her application, but this court remanded the case for further administrative action on December 5, 1985. The Appeals Council of the Department of Health and Human Services, which had earlier denied P's request for review, then vacated that denial and remanded the case to an ALJ for a hearing. The ALJ convened a hearing and P was represented by an attorney. The hearing lasted less than one hour. The ALJ issued a recommended decision in which he found P not disabled and recommended that she be denied disability insurance benefits as well as supplemental security income. The Appeals Council adopted the findings. P once again appealed the decision. P argues in part that D denied her due process and her statutory right to a hearing.