Doughty v. Apfel

• Citation: 245 F.3d 1274
• Decision Date: 28 March 2001
• Docket Number: Docket No. 98-01870-CV-T-26C,No. 99-15411,99-15411
• Parties: (11th Cir. 2001) CHARLES DOUGHTY, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. KENNETH S. APFEL, Commissioner, Social Security Administration, Defendant-Appellee. D. C
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Eleventh Circuit

Page 1274

245 F.3d 1274 (11th Cir. 2001)

CHARLES DOUGHTY, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. KENNETH S. APFEL, Commissioner, Social Security Administration, Defendant-Appellee.

No. 99-15411

D. C. Docket No. 98-01870-CV-T-26C

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS

ELEVENTH CIRCUIT

March 28, 2001

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida

Before EDMONDSON, CARNES and MARCUS, Circuit Judges.

MARCUS, Circuit Judge:

Charles Doughty appeals the district court's order affirming the Commissioner's denial of his petition for supplemental security income ("SSI") under 42 U.S.C. 1383, and disability insurance benefits ("DIB") under 42 U.S.C. 423(a). Doughty was denied benefits pursuant to the Contract with America Advancement Act of 1996 ("CAAA"), Pub. L. No. 104-121, 105(a)(1), (b)(1), 110 Stat. 847, 852, 853 (codified as amended at 42 U.S.C. 423(d)(2)(C) (1997)).¹ The CAAA amended the Social Security Act to preclude the award of benefits when alcoholism or drug addiction is determined to be a contributing factor material to the determination that a claimant is disabled. The CAAA did not directly address, however, whether the claimant or the Commissioner bears the burden of proving whether the claimant would be disabled if he stopped using drugs or alcohol. We hold, as a matter of first impression in this Circuit, that the claimant bears that burden. Because we find that Doughty did not meet that burden, we affirm.

I.

Doughty applied for SSI and DIB in 1994. In his applications, Doughty alleged that he was disabled as of December 31, 1989, due to anxiety-related disorders. Doughty's applications for both SSI and DIB were denied initially and upon reconsideration. Doughty requested and received a hearing before an Administrative Law Judge ("ALJ").

The ALJ heard Doughty's case on July 29, 1996. Doughty was thirty-nine years old at the time and testified that he had a tenth-grade education. He stated that his past relevant work experience included employment as a baker's assistant, a bakery supervisor, a "tomato grater," and a lubrication technician. Doughty testified that he has not engaged in substantial gainful employment since December 31, 1989.

Doughty explained that he quit his job as a baker because he began experiencing frequent dizzy spells and was afraid that he would injure himself on the job. Although Doughty acknowledged that he had a history of alcohol use, he testified that drinking had never caused him to miss work or to be arrested. Doughty stated that when he consumed alcohol, he would drink one to three beers a day to calm himself down when he experienced anxiety attacks. Doughty said that the anxiety attacks consisted of a racing pulse, dizziness, shortness of breath, and a loss of concentration. Doughty testified that he had not been drinking for a few months prior to the hearing, and that he had completed a detoxification program. Doughty further stated that he was on a waiting list for admission into a drug and alcohol treatment facility.

Doughty's relevant medical history includes the following facts: Dr. Craig Triguero treated Doughty from February 1988 through September 1994. Doughty's primary complaint was dizziness, but he also complained of shakiness, chest pains, and heart palpitations. Doughty told Dr. Triguero that the had been drinking constantly since the age of eleven and that he was an "admitted alcoholic," despite several attempts at rehabilitation. Dr. Triguero encouraged Doughty to participate in rehabilitation programs such as Alcoholics Anonymous ("AA"), but Dr. Triguero's notes indicate that Doughty never attended AA and sometimes drank twelve to fourteen beers a day. In August 1992, Dr. Triguero noted that Doughty attempted to stop drinking but was only able to refrain from alcohol for a two-week period.

A report from Manatee Glens Alcohol and Drug Service dated April 1, 1993, indicated that Doughty had participated in a twelve- step program and an outpatient detoxification program. The diagnosis ruled out panic disorder with agoraphobia and determined that Doughty suffered from alcohol dependence. Doughty reported experiencing panic attacks and other withdrawal symptoms when he tried, cold turkey, to stop drinking. The report noted that Doughty was unable to achieve more than a few weeks of sobriety without the assistance of Librium.

Doughty was hospitalized for depression and alcoholism with suicidal ideation in September 1994. Upon examination, Doughty appeared to be alert and oriented, although he was somewhat depressed and had alcohol on his breath. Doughty was placed on psychiatric watch and discharged shortly thereafter.

Dr. David Wood treated Doughty for alcoholism and alcohol detoxification from February 1993 through November 1995. Dr. Wood noted that Doughty's alcoholism seemed to be "fairly consistent" throughout the course of treatment and that, as result of his addiction, Doughty experienced anxiety and tremulousness. Dr. Wood stated that he had observed Doughty sober long enough not to be in withdrawal on only one or two occasions. During those visits, Dr. Wood noted that Doughty appeared to be "entirely normal." Dr. Wood opined that if Doughty were able to abstain from drinking, he would be capable of performing many work-related activities including sitting, standing, walking, lifting, carrying and handling objects, hearing, speaking, and traveling. Finally, Dr. Wood determined that Doughty did not experience any chronic physical impairments that would persist in the absence of alcohol abuse.

Dr. John Super, a clinical psychologist, conducted an evaluation of Doughty in January 1995 at the request of the Office of Disability Determinations. Dr. Super noted that, despite previous attempts at treatment, Doughty was still suffering from alcohol dependence. Doughty reported that he had been arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol when he was eighteen years old. Dr. Super observed that Doughty was alert and did not exhibit any signs of depression. Doughty did, however, report exhibiting situational bouts of anxiety, including palpitations, shakes, tremors, and concentrational deficits. Doughty testified that his daily activities included vacuuming, sweeping, mopping, and doing dishes. He also reported shopping and cooking occasionally, and reading, watching television, and talking on a citizens' band radio for recreation. Dr. Super submitted a mental capacities evaluation form in which he noted that Doughty had a "poor" to "good" ability to make occupational adjustments, a "good" ability to make performance adjustments, and a "fair" ability to make personal-social adjustments.

In November 1995, Doughty was hospitalized again for intermittent chest pains which radiated to his left arm and leg. He admitted to medicating himself with beer. He also reported that he had not taken his prescription medication for several months. Doughty was diagnosed with alcoholism and anxiety, prescribed Xanax, and referred to several alcohol abuse rehabilitation programs.

On these facts, the ALJ issued a decision on February 26, 1997, denying benefits. The ALJ found that Doughty had "a severe impairment or combination of impairments which precludes all work activity, namely alcoholism and anxiety resulting therefrom." The ALJ concluded that these impairments, while severe, did not meet or equal the criteria of any of the "listed impairments" found in the applicable regulations. Because Doughty was not presumptively disabled under this list, the ALJ next considered Doughty's subjective statements regarding his impairments and their impact on his ability to work. The ALJ found Doughty's claims that he was unable to work due to his anxiety not to be credible.

The ALJ concluded, however, that Doughty had a significant nonexertional limitation consisting of his inability to concentrate while intoxicated. The ALJ found that this limitation interfered with Doughty's ability to work. The ALJ further determined that Doughty could not perform his past relevant work and that he did not have the transferable skills to perform other work within his residual functional capacity. Therefore, the ALJ concluded that Doughty's alcoholism was disabling and that there were no jobs existing in significant numbers in the national economy that Doughty could perform. Nevertheless, the ALJ denied benefits to Doughty because the medical evidence indicated that Doughty would not be disabled if he stopped using alcohol, thus making Doughty's alcoholism a "material contributing factor" to his disability under to the CAAA.

After the ALJ rendered his decision, Doughty submitted additional medical records from Manatee Glens Corporation Alcohol and Drug Services for consideration by the Appeals Council. This new evidence covered Doughty's outpatient alcohol treatment from September 24, 1994, through September 7, 1997. The AC denied Doughty's request for review, stating that it had considered the new evidence.

Doughty then sought judicial review of the Commissioner's final decision in the district court. Doughty argued, inter alia, that the ALJ had the burden of demonstrating that his alcohol use was a contributing factor material to the determination of disability. He maintained that the ALJ misapplied the CAAA by failing to separate his limitations caused by alcohol use from those caused by other impairments before engaging in the five- step sequential disability determination. Doughty requested that the district court reverse the Commissioner's decision, or in the alternative, remand his case to the Commissioner for further proceedings. The district court upheld the decision of the Commissioner, and Doughty filed a timely appeal.

II.

We review the Commissioner's factual findings with deference and the Commissioner's legal conclusions with close scrutiny. See Cornelius v. Sullivan, 936 F.2d 1143, 1145 (11th Cir. 1991). When, as in this case, the ALJ denies...