Jones v. Heckler
| Citation | 702 F.2d 616 |
| Decision Date | 14 April 1983 |
| Docket Number | No. 82-4487,82-4487 |
| Parties | Claudie F. JONES, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. Margaret M. HECKLER, Secretary of Health and Human Services, Defendant-Appellee. Summary Calendar. |
| Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — Fifth Circuit |
Jessie L. Evans, East MS Legal Services, Forest, Miss., for plaintiff-appellant.
E. Donald Strange, Asst. U.S. Atty., Jackson, Miss., for defendant-appellee.
Appeal from the United States District Court of the Southern District of Mississippi.
Before RUBIN, JOHNSON and WILLIAMS, Circuit Judges.
This action was brought under Sec. 205(g) of the Social Security Act, 42 U.S.C. Sec. 405(g), to obtain judicial review of a final decision of the Secretary of Health and Human Services, terminating appellant's award of disability insurance benefits. We find that the Secretary's decision was supported by substantial evidence. We therefore affirm the summary judgment of the district court upholding that decision.
Claudie F. Jones was born on August 15, 1934, and resides in Raleigh, Mississippi. She is divorced and has a fifteen-year old mentally retarded son living with her. She has an eighth grade education. Previously she has been employed as a sewing machine operator in various garment plants and as an employee in a woodworks factory making cabinets for stereo and television sets. Mrs. Jones had a fairly consistent work record from 1950 through 1975, at which Nine months later, in June, 1978, Mrs. Jones filed a new application and was awarded disability benefits beginning in August, 1978. She was notified on October 20, 1980, that her impairments no longer prevented her from engaging in all substantial gainful activity, and that November, 1980, was the last month for which she was entitled to benefits. She then filed a request for a hearing on the termination of her disability benefits, and also filed a new application for supplemental social security income. Following a hearing in August, 1981, the administrative law judge concluded that Mrs. Jones' impairments were sufficiently debilitating to prevent her from engaging in her past work. At the same time, however, the ALJ found that sedentary work was within her "residual functional capacity", and thus, that she was not "disabled" to the extent that she cannot engage in any substantial gainful work. See 42 U.S.C. Sec. 423(d)(2)(A).
time she was forced to stop work due to severe back pain. She then underwent a lumbar laminectomy for excision of a herniated disc at the fifth lumbar and first sacroiliac interspace, and was awarded disability benefits beginning in May, 1975. Upon a continuing disability investigation, it was determined that her disability had ceased as of July 1977, and her benefits were terminated that September.
Mrs. Jones has suffered from poor health due to numerous operations for back injuries and hernia problems. She was last operated on in November, 1979, for a removal of an extruded disc fragment. She was hospitalized from January 5, to January 13, 1981, for continued lower back and left leg pain. At the hearing before the Administrative Law Judge, Mrs. Jones testified that she suffers from severe pain as a result of back injuries, arthritis, and has had seven hernia operations. She stated that her back is getting "like it was" before her last surgery, that she has arthritis in her hands, and that her knees and legs "jump" so that she has to sit on the side of the bed to relieve the pain. She testified that her stomach pain is often so severe that she must go to bed. She also has a burning sensation in her neck and head approximately three times a week which she believes is the result of her back injury. She testified that her nerves get "pretty bad at times." She prays a lot and takes "a nerve pill". Her daily activities consist of watching her son, watching TV, and reading the Bible. Mrs. Jones estimated that she walked about a mile to a mile and a half each day in order to relieve the pain in her legs. Her daughter, Katie Goodhue, lives about 65 miles from Mrs. Jones and visits approximately three times a month to help her clean the house and do other housework. Mrs. Goodhue testified that her mother's condition is worse since she was last released from the hospital and that she "can't do hardly anything". Mrs. Jones stated that she is unable to sweep or mop because of her back: If she moves she has spasms similar to those accompanying a heart attack. She cannot sleep on her bed, cannot sit in chairs, and cannot stand for long.
The medical evidence received at the hearing included reports made by two doctors at the request of the Secretary, Dr. John R. Pieklik, an internist, and Dr. Robert M. Ritter, a psychiatrist. Received also were letters from Drs. Howard D. Clark and Vince Baucum, both general practitioners who had treated Mrs. Jones on a regular basis, and a report from Dr. Bernard S. Patrick, a neurological surgeon who performed Mrs. Jones' operation in November, 1979, and who was responsible for her hospitalization in January, 1981.
Dr. Patrick indicated that when he examined Mrs. Jones on July 25, 1980, she was still complaining of left back and leg pain, but in spite of these complaints, objectively she "clearly" appeared to be improving. Following Mrs. Jones' hospitalization in 1981, Patrick conducted a lumbar myelogram as well as various x-rays of the lumbar spine which showed no significant abnormalities. After a careful review of Mrs. Jones' medical history and current laboratory results, Dr. Patrick concluded that he had "serious doubts" that he could find "sufficient evidence to justify a disability Dr. Patrick additionally consulted with Dr. Tom Turner, a board-certified orthopedic surgeon, who further investigated Mrs. Jones' complaints by performing additional medical tests (tomagrams of L-5, pars interarticularis) which were normal. As a result of these tests and a study of Dr. Patrick's evaluation, Dr. Turner concluded that Mrs. Jones "probably" did not have a serious organic problem with her back. His opinion was that Mrs. Jones was capable of sedentary work involving standing, walking, and moving about, but excluding frequent bending and heavy lifting.
status for Mrs. Jones." At the same time, he concluded that she did have "some back difficulty that makes her life less than ideal."
Dr. Robert M. Ritter, a board-certified psychiatrist and neurologist, performed a consultive examination of Mrs. Jones on July 16, 1981. Dr. Ritter noted that Mrs. Jones continued to complain of pain, but appeared to be "capable of gainful employment." He concluded that she suffered from multiple psychophysical reaction.
Dr. John Pieklik, a board-certified internist, examined Mrs. Jones on July 15, 1981. He concluded that she was suffering from "moderately disabling low back pain and recurrent ventral hernia." Dr. Pieklik completed a Residual Functional Capacity Evaluation which indicated that Mrs. Jones was capable of performing sedentary work.
Dr. Howard D. Clark, a board-certified family practitioner, submitted a letter dated September 22, 1980, indicating that Mrs. Jones was "totally and permanently disabled because of post-operative lumbar disc disease and recurrent, post-operative ventral hernia." Dr. Vance Baucum, also a general practitioner, examined Mrs. Jones on June 12, 1981, and indicated that Mrs. Jones' prognosis was "poor" due to a recurrent abdominal wall hernia, and also that her ability to work was restricted due to pain. Dr. L.A. Bible stated in letters dated September 22, 1980 and May 1, 1981, that plaintiff's "main problem is that no one will hire her because of her medical history." Dr. Michael A. Douglas, a general surgeon, concluded in a letter of September 10, 1980, that Mrs. Jones was suffering from "low back pain syndrome without significant neurological deficit."
After consideration of the entire record, the administrative law judge found that Mrs. Jones' "impairments, together with accompanying pain" have prevented her from returning to her past jobs, but have not prevented her from "performing sedentary work on a sustained basis, where she would be required to lift a maximum of ten pounds, and occasionally stand and/or walk." 1 While the ALJ recognized that Mrs. Jones had undergone two surgeries to her lower back and has significant limitation of movement in her lumbar spine which would undoubtedly cause her to experience discomfort, he concluded that only minimal neurological deficits existed. Such deficiencies would not prevent her from engaging in sedentary work. 2 The judge also found that while Mrs. Jones testified as having anxiety, there was no evidence of inappropriate behavior, thought disorder, or any other indicia of a severe psychiatric impairment. Nor was there medical evidence of any heart impairment to substantiate her complaints of recurrent chest pain.
Mrs. Jones first argues that the administrative law judge's finding that her impairments did not preclude substantial gainful employment is not supported by the evidence....
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