Wallace v. Bowen

Wallace (plaintiff) suffered a heart attack, stroke, and resulting vision impairment, and applied for disability benefits. The ALJ, after the hearing, consulted two physicians whose reports found his impairments insufficient for benefits, without giving Wallace an opportunity to cross-examine them, and denied his claim relying substantially on those reports.

Whether an ALJ can rely on post-hearing medical reports without providing the claimant an opportunity to cross-examine the report's authors.