Baugus v. Secretary of Health and Human Services

• Decision Date: 14 September 1983
• Docket Number: No. 82-2510,82-2510
• Citation: 717 F.2d 443
• Parties: , 14 Fed. R. Evid. Serv. 378 Curtis C. BAUGUS, Appellant, v. SECRETARY OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, Appellee.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Eighth Circuit

Page 443

717 F.2d 443

2 Soc.Sec.Rep.Ser. 556, 14 Fed. R. Evid. Serv. 378

Curtis C. BAUGUS, Appellant, v. SECRETARY OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, Appellee.

No. 82-2510.

United States Court of Appeals Eighth Circuit.

Submitted June 16, 1983.

Decided Sept. 14, 1983.

Evan L. Hultman, U.S. Atty., Asher E. Schroeder, Asst. U.S. Atty., N.D. Iowa, Sioux City, Iowa, for appellee; Paul P. Cacioppo, Regional Atty., Kenneth J. Cain, Dept. of Health and Human Services, Kansas City, Mo., for appellee.

Keith A. Kreiman, Kelley A. Rice, Thomas A. Krause, Legal Services Corp. of Iowa, Northwest Regional Office, Sioux City, Iowa, for appellant.

Before LAY, Chief Judge, SWYGERT, Senior Circuit Judge, ^* and ARNOLD, Circuit Judge.

LAY, Chief Judge.

Curtis Baugus appeals from the order of the Honorable Donald E. O'Brien, United States District Court for the District of Iowa, affirming the decision of the Secretary of Health and Human Services denying disability benefits under Title II of the Social Security Act, 42 U.S.C. Sec. 401, et seq. Baugus contends that (1) the decision of the Secretary is not supported by substantial evidence on the record as a whole; (2) the Administrative Law Judge's (ALJ) reliance on the Medical-Vocational Guidelines was error; and (3) the ALJ failed to fully and fairly develop the evidence at the administrative hearing. We reverse the district court and order an award of benefits to Baugus.

Statement of the Case.

Baugus applied for Social Security Disability Insurance on November 17, 1980. He was granted a hearing before the ALJ who concluded that Baugus was not disabled within the meaning of the Social Security Act. ¹ The Appeals Council of the Social Security Administration found there was no basis for granting a request for review and refused to review the decision of the ALJ; on petition for review, the district court affirmed the denial of benefits. Testimony and Evidence.

Baugus testified that he was 43 years of age and has an eighth grade education. He was self-employed for the last 17 years as a general contractor, tree trimmer, concrete form setter and truck driver. He suffers from a back condition which has severely restricted his ability to engage in work. He also testified that he had a residual disability from polio, and that recently he had surgery for cancer and surgery to correct a hernia. He testified that his right leg from the waist to the knee often was numb, that the numbness in his legs could last three to four days at a time, and that his legs went numb after 15 to 30 minutes of standing. His left leg had severe pain that radiated from his upper leg to his toes. He further testified that he could not squat or kneel. He stated he could only walk one and one-half blocks and at the most climb one flight of stairs. He said he could pick up one gallon of milk. Baugus testified he is completely restricted from carrying on any substantial activity.

In September 1980 Baugus underwent a radical left orchiectomy due to seminoma of the left testicle. He also had surgery for repair of a right and left direct inguinal hernia. He was then treated with radiation therapy. He was seen by Dr. Blenderman for treatment of lower back pain which radiated into his legs causing pain and numbness. This pain was a result of spondylolysis and spondylolisthesis, and consequently, Baugus was fitted with a high back brace.

In March 1981 Baugus was seen and treated by Dr. J.W. Freeman. Dr. Freeman noted:

This gentlemen does appear to have significant back pain. Certainly by his account it has severely limited very normal vigorous physical activities. Based on his description I do think that he is having some radicular pain to both legs. The numbness in the right leg suggest an 14 radiculopathy. It is difficult to evaluate the patient by virtue of his old polio. I suspect that the absent reflex in legs and certainly the weakness of the left leg could all be chronic and a result of his old lower motor nueron injury from polio.

Dr. John A. McFarlane reported:

Curtis Baugus has been a patient of mine since July 29, 1980 when he came in because of carcinoma of the testicle. He had a radical orchiectomy for this and has had radiation therapy.

He also has a disc condition which is incapacitating him and with the two diseases, he has become unable to perform his usual physical activities to render a wage earning job. It is my feeling that this man should be classified as disabled....

Dr. Dennis L. Johnson, an orthopedic surgeon, stated that Baugus had "grade II spondylolisthesis of L5 on S1 with neurologic involvement of L5 on the left and S1 on the right." Dr. Johnson felt that Baugus might eventually require a "laminectomy and posterolateral fusion for resolution of his symptoms." Dr. Johnson stated on June 10, 1981, that Baugus must limit his lifting to under 25 pounds indefinitely.

The ALJ found Baugus was unable to return to his previous line of work but was not disabled within the meaning of 42 U.S.C. Sec. 423(d) (1982) of the Social Security Act. He further found Baugus possessed the residual functional capacity for the full-range of "sedentary" labor under section 404.1567(a) of the Social Security Administrations Regulations. ²

The question we must decide is whether the ALJ's decision is supported by substantial evidence on the record as a whole. 42 U.S.C. Sec. 405(g) (1983); McGhee v. Harris, 683 F.2d 256, 258 (8th Cir.1982); Gilliam v. Califano, 620 F.2d 691, 693 (8th Cir.1980). The Supreme Court has defined "substantial evidence" in this context, as " 'more than a mere scintilla.' " Richardson v. Perales, 402 U.S. 389, 91 S.Ct. 1420, 28 L.Ed.2d 842 (1971), quoting Consolidated Edison Co. v. NLRB, 305 U.S. 197, 229, 59 S.Ct. 206, 216, 83 L.Ed. 126 (1938). We find considering the record as a whole there is not substantial evidence to uphold the ALJ's determination. ³

The evidence was clear that Baugus could not return to his previous line of work. Thus, the burden shifted to the Secretary to show that work existed in the national economy that Baugus was capable of performing. Jackson v. Schweiker, 696 F.2d 630, 631 n. 1 (8th Cir.1983); Gilliam v. Califano, 620 F.2d at 693. The secretary must establish a claimant's residual functional capacity ⁴ by substantial evidence. McDonald v. Schweiker, 698 F.2d 361, 364 (8th Cir.1982); Weber v. Harris, 640 F.2d 176, 177-78 (8th Cir.1981). Although it is unclear from the record whether the ALJ ever shifted the burden of proof to the Secretary, we find the Secretary did not meet this burden.

Hypothetical Question.

A. Proper Form.

The hypothetical questions and answers thereto relied upon in part by the ALJ to the vocational expert were clearly improper. The vocational expert considering all of Baugus' testimony and the medical evidence testified that Baugus could not return to his former work. The following dialogue took place:

Q Assume the claimant's age, education, and past work experience, and then assume the testimony that you've heard from this individual this morning, do you have an opinion as to whether the claimant retains any vocational residual skills that could be transferred to any of the occupations published by the Social Security Administration in the Social Security Administration's regulations, or to any related type work activity that he may have performed in the past, that exists in the region or (inaudible) economy in significant numbers?

A Yes, I do.

Q And what is that opinion?

A According to his testimony today, he does not.

Q Assume the claimant's age, education, and past work experience, and still assuming the medical evidence that you've examined, excluding here the consideration or any opinion that this individual can or cannot work, or is or is not disabled, because that will be the decision reached by the Secretary of Health and Human Services in this particular proceeding, and I ask you to consider only the clinical or laboratory findings that are supportive of any of the diagnoses that are set forth in these documents, do you have an opinion as to whether the claimant retains any residual vocational skills that can be transferred to any these occupations published by the Social Security Administration in that agency's regulations, that exist in the region or (inaudible) economy in significant numbers, or be any jobs that would be related to his past work experience? (Emphasis added).

A Yes, I do.

Q And what's that opinion, please?

A That he does.

The expert testified as to available jobs in the national economy, and Baugus was then permitted to ask these questions:

CLAIMANT: These jobs, you know, like for standing, you know, what would I do after my 15 to 30 minutes?

MRS. HOWELL: According to what you've said today, you would not be able to perform them.

CLAIMANT: And then what--what about from, you know, my sitting and that, do you have anything that--is there anything like a person could--is there anything that would fall in my category?

MRS. HOWELL: According to what you've said today, there would not be.

As we have held on numerous occasions, a hypothetical question must "set out all of the claimant's impairments." O'Leary v. Schweiker, 710 F.2d 1334 at 1343 (8th Cir. June 30, 1983); e.g., McMillian v. Schweiker, 697 F.2d 215, 219-20 (8th Cir.1983); Tennant v. Schweiker, 682 F.2d 707, 711 (8th Cir.1982); Camp v. Schweiker, 643 F.2d 1325, 1333 (8th Cir.1981). In the present case it is not clear what factors the vocational expert considered in giving his conclusion. Here the expert is in effect told to ignore all of the claimant's disabilities and physical restrictions. This is clearly improper. As in O'Leary, the same ALJ in this case erroneously excluded pain from his second hypothetical and asked the expert to consider "only the clinical or laboratory findings that are supportive of any of the diagnoses that are set forth in these documents." We hold this to be error. The ALJ must precisely set...