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[NOT FOR PUBLICATION]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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