Anderson v. Barnhart, No. C02-4071-MWB (N.D. Iowa 9/2/2003)
| Decision Date | 02 September 2003 |
| Docket Number | No. C02-4071-MWB.,C02-4071-MWB. |
| Parties | CHRISTA J. ANDERSON, Plaintiff, v. JO ANNE B. BARNHART, Commissioner of Social Security, Defendant. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Northern District of Iowa |
The plaintiff Christa J. Anderson ("Anderson") appeals the decision by an administrative law judge ("ALJ") denying her application for Title XVI supplemental security income ("SSI") benefits. Anderson argues the ALJ erred in finding that her subjective complaints were not credible, that she retains the capacity for light work, and, in general, that she is not disabled. (See Doc. No. 10)
On September 11, 2000, Anderson filed an application for SSI benefits with a protective filing date of September 6, 2000. (See R. 11, 99-101) In her application, Anderson alleged a disability onset date of May 1, 1991. (R. 99) The application was denied initially on February 21, 2000 (R. 75, 77-81), and on reconsideration on May 25, 2001. (R. 76, 86-89) Anderson requested a hearing (R. 90-93), which was held before ALJ Robert Maxwell in Spencer, Iowa, on January 15, 2002. (R. 28-74) Attorney David Scott represented Anderson at the hearing. Testifying at the hearing were Anderson; James P. Farrell, a friend of Anderson's; and Vocational Expert ("VE") Dr. William B. Tucker.
On January 28, 2002, the ALJ ruled Anderson was not entitled to benefits. (R. 8-23) The Appeals Council of the Social Security Administration denied Anderson's request for review on June 19, 2002 (R. 4-5), making the ALJ's decision the final decision of the Commissioner.
Anderson filed a timely Complaint in this court on August 15, 2002, seeking judicial review of the ALJ's ruling. (Doc. No. 1) In accordance with Administrative Order #1447, dated September 20, 1999, this matter was referred to the undersigned United States Magistrate Judge pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 636(b) (1) (B), for the filing of a report and recommended disposition of Anderson's claim. Anderson filed a brief supporting her claim on May 16, 2003. (Doc. No. 10) The Commissioner filed a responsive brief on June 27, 2003. (Doc. No. 11) The matter is now fully submitted, and pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 405(g), the court turns to a review of Anderson's claim for benefits.
Anderson was born on October 30, 1950. She lives alone in Primghar, Iowa, where she has lived all of her life. She made average grades in high school, and graduated in 1968. (R. 32, 62) She has taken a few nurse's aide classes, but otherwise has had no training or education since high school. (R. 33)
Anderson began working at a nursing home at age 16, and continued working there after she graduated from high school. She had a son in 1974, and she quit working in November 1974, to care for her son full time. She has worked very little since leaving the nursing home job. She worked part-time on a few occasions, riding as a supervisor on a Head Start school bus. She worked at that job during the entire school year from September to May, possibly in 1991 or 1992; from January to May on an earlier occasion, but she could not state the year; and from September to January on a third occasion. She worked for six months or less at a TV repair shop, dusting and cleaning up. She was unable to run the cash register because she "screwed up." (R. 33-38) Anderson thought the last time she worked was in 1993. (R. 39)
Anderson stated she is able to stand for ten or fifteen minutes at a time, and then she sits down and rests. She has sharp pain in her lower back and legs, "brought on by moving, walking, whatever." (R. 41) She explained that she can sit longer in some types of chairs, like the solid oak rocking chair she has at home, than she can in others. (R. 40)
Anderson also said her ability to walk is limited, explaining:
If I don't do a whole lot at home, sometimes I take it easy and stuff, I can go outdoors, and I start walking, just to go get the mail or uptown, which is about I'm guessing four blocks. I take my time and go easy, and by the time I get up there, I am hurting, it hurts, I have to slow down and take it easy, and then I just go do what I have to do and then come back, and then when I get home, I sit in my chair again.
(R. 41) Her pain from walking is all the way across both hips, and in both legs from her hips to her feet, with the right leg being worse than the left. She stated she has groin pain when she walks, and the sciatic nerve in her right hip bothers her off and on. (R. 42) Anderson stated she does not take pain medication because it does not help. She tried "a sort of Darvocet," beginning with a half tablet and increasing the dosage to two pills at a time. The pills were supposed to last six to eight hours, but hardly lasted four hours, and the next day she would be sleepy and groggy. She quit taking the pain medication about a year before the hearing, and stated, with regard to the pain, "I just ride it out." (R. 43)
Anderson also testified about pain in her neck that causes headaches and makes her arms and hands hurt. The pain is an aching pain that starts in the back of her neck and travels down through her shoulders and into her hands. The pain is on both sides and usually is equal bilaterally, although sometimes, depending on what she is doing, her left hand will hurt worse than her right. (R. 44-45) Activity makes the pain worse. When she does dishes or laundry, she sometimes has pain coming up from her thumbs, sometimes has no pain at all, and sometimes has shooting pain. She stated that at times she is unable to write due to the pain. Anderson is right-handed, and she stated her neck and arm pain is usually more severe on the right side.1 (R. 45) She has chronic weakness in her wrists from falling on them, and she is unable to put much weight on her wrists without them buckling. (R. 50-51) Anderson stated she was "very uncomfortable" during the hearing, and she sat with her hands resting up on the table in front of her, which she stated was a comfortable position. (R. 41, 56)
Dr. Lionel Herrera, a neurosurgeon in Sioux City, to whom Anderson was referred by a physician's assistant, told Anderson surgery on her neck and low back might alleviate some, but not all, of her pain; however, she probably would have a 15% to 20% restriction. (R. 46, 51) Anderson last saw Dr. Herrera in the summer of 1997, and she was unwilling to consider surgery at that time. (Id.) Dr. Herrera listed Anderson's symptoms in order of severity as (1) neck pain, (2) bilateral shoulder pain, left greater than right; (3) lower back pain; (4) right hip pain; (5) right leg pain; (6) left hip pain; (7) left leg pain; (8) upper back pain; (9) numbness in both hands; and (10) headache. Anderson disagreed with the order of severity, stating instead that Dr. Herrera was simply listing her symptoms from the head down. She stated her worst pain starts in her lower back, and as of the time of the hearing, her leg pain was the most severe, with occasional numbness in her toes. (R. 47-48) Dr. Herrera gave Anderson an epidural flood that, according to Anderson, "lasted maybe four or five days." (R. 51) When she left the doctor's care, he did not prescribe any pain medication, but sent Anderson to the pain unit at Marion Health Center. (R. 48-49)
In 1993, Anderson saw Dr. Quentin Durward, a neurosurgeon in Sioux City. Dr. Durward gave Anderson "a brace that come[s] around the lower back, come[s] to the front with Velcro strips, . . . [and has] a heavy plastic thing that's formed to your lower back stuck in a pouch." (R. 49) She wore the brace for over a year, but stopped when it quit working. (R. 49-50)
Anderson has had little medical treatment since 1998, when her youngest child left home, due to lack of funds. (R. 50) At the time of the hearing, Anderson was taking Flovent and Serevent inhalers and Albuterol for asthma, Prempro "for menopause" (R. 54), and Celexa "for anxiety." (Id.) She stated she had just added Allegra-D for her allergies, and the antibiotic Cephalexin for a respiratory infection. (R. 51, 54) She stated she had been hospitalized or had gone to the emergency room because of breathing difficulties in 1996, but she has not had similar episodes since that time because she has "tried to be very careful." (R. 61)
Anderson's current medications were prescribed by Jackie Kramer, a physician's assistant "at the clinic." (R. 52) She stated the inhalers were samples. She was given some samples of the Allegra-D, and she stated her mother was paying to have the prescription filled. According to Anderson, the clinic gives her three months of Celexa and Prempro at a time, and because of "some kind of medical thing through the clinic," she does not have to pay for those medications. (Id., R. 55) Anderson testified she had only seen the physician's assistant in the year preceding the hearing. She had not tried to see the doctor because she has no insurance. (Id.; R. 60)
Anderson stated the Celexa settles her down so she can "get through the day" and "function a little bit better." (R. 55) She worries less "about everything and everyone." (Id.) She testified she had started seeing mental health professionals "back somewhere in the 60's," but had not been under the care of a mental health professional for about seven years. (R. 60) She then clarified that the professional she had seen may have been a social worker rather than a psychologist or psychiatrist. It was someone through Lutheran Social Services who came to her home to counsel her and her son. (R. 60-61)
At the hearing, Anderson's attorney noted her voice sounded raspy. She explained she had been on antibiotics for a few days for symptoms of coughing, runny nose, headache, and pain in her face and chest. She stated the day of the hearing was the first day she had begun feeling somewhat better. (R. 53...
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