Santiago-Santiago v. SHHS

Case Date: 04/25/1994
Court: United States Court of Appeals
Docket No: 93-1428


April 25, 1994
[NOT FOR PUBLICATION]

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FIRST CIRCUIT
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No. 93-1428

MARIA DE J. SANTIAGO-SANTIAGO,

Plaintiff, Appellant,

v.

SECRETARY OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES,

Defendant, Appellee.
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APPEAL FROM THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

FOR THE DISTRICT OF PUERTO RICO
[Hon. Jose Antonio Fuste, U.S. District Judge]
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Before

Cyr, Boudin and Stahl,
Circuit Judges.
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Raymond Rivera Esteves and Juan A. Hernandez Rivera on brief for
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appellant.
Charles E. Fitzwilliam, United States Attorney, Jose Vazquez
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Garcia, Assistant United States Attorney, and Robert M. Peckrill,
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Assistant Regional Counsel, Department of Health and Human Services,
on brief for appellee.
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Per Curiam. We affirm substantially for the
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reasons stated in the district court's opinion and order of

February 1, 1993. We have carefully reviewed the entire

record and disagree with claimant's contentions that the

testimony of the medical expert was flawed. The opinion of a

testifying medical expert who has explained the relevant

medical evidence is entitled to considerable weight. Dudley
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v. Secretary of Health & Human Services, 816 F.2d 792, 794
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(1st Cir. 1987); see also Richardson v. Perales, 402 U.S.
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389, 408 (1971). In addition,

the vocational expert's testimony that claimant could perform

a narrow range of light work was properly credited. See
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Berios Lopez v. Secretary of Health and Human Services, 951
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F.2d 427, 429 (1st Cir. 1991). The record as a whole

sufficiently supports the Secretary's decision.

The judgment of the district court is affirmed.
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