Baldwin v. Barnhart, 02-3502.

• Decision Date: 13 November 2003
• Docket Number: No. 02-3502.,02-3502.
• Citation: 349 F.3d 549
• Parties: Marvin BALDWIN, Sr., Appellant, v. Jo Anne B. BARNHART, Commissioner, Social Security Administration, Appellee.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Eighth Circuit

349 F.3d 549

Marvin BALDWIN, Sr., Appellant, v. Jo Anne B. BARNHART, Commissioner, Social Security Administration, Appellee.

No. 02-3502.

United States Court of Appeals, Eighth Circuit.

Submitted: June 13, 2003.

Filed: November 13, 2003.

COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED

Philip Senturia, argued, St. Louis, MO, for appellant.

Aaron M. Morgan, argued, Office of General Counsel, SSA, Kansas City, MO (Stacy A. Morgan, on the brief), for appellee.

Before MELLOY, BEAM, and SMITH, Circuit Judges.

SMITH, Circuit Judge.

Marvin Baldwin, Sr. appeals the district court's¹ judgment affirming the denial of his application for Social Security disability benefits. We affirm.

I. Background

Baldwin applied for disability benefits on July 12, 1996, claiming that he became unable to work on July 6, 1996.² He alleged disability due to ulcers, poor eyesight, problems with his left foot, back, and legs, and stress syndrome. Baldwin completed sixteen years of school and earned a GED, and his past work included trash collector, laborer, and heavy-equipment operator.

A. Medical History

Baldwin's relevant medical history can be divided into two categories-records generated by Baldwin's independent visits to health-care providers and records generated at the request of the Social Security Administration ("Administration").³

i. Independent Visits

Baldwin's independent visits produced reports detailing his various complaints. On November 15, 1996, an upper gastrointestinal series test showed a moderate deformity and ulceration of the duodenal bulb. An x-ray of Baldwin's right shoulder dated December 30, 1996, was normal, and a chest x-ray revealed no acute disease.

On January 1, 1997, Baldwin went to the emergency room with complaints of right arm and chest pain. X-rays of the chest and shoulder showed no active cardiopulmonary disease and a normal right shoulder. Baldwin was diagnosed with right shoulder bursitis and was prescribed Ibuprofen. Baldwin returned to the emergency room on January 19, 1997, with complaints of right shoulder pain and hand numbness. Baldwin was diagnosed with cervical radiculopathy. He was prescribed Ibuprofen, advised to stop taking Naprosyn, and instructed to wear a cervical collar for comfort.

Baldwin presented to People's Health Center on January 24, 1997, with complaints of a month-long history of right shoulder and neck pain. He also reported numbness in three fingers of his right hand. Baldwin indicated that Ultram and anti-radiculopathy medicines provided him no relief; therefore, the treating physician prescribed Darvocet and referred Baldwin to an orthopedist. The administrative record contains no record showing that Baldwin saw an orthopedist pursuant to that referral.

On February 11, 1997, Baldwin went to St. Louis Regional Medical Center complaining of neck pain beginning in the 1960s and bilateral arm numbness beginning in 1984. Examination revealed neck pain with side bending. The examining physician noted that Baldwin was uncooperative. The examining physician's evaluation suggested C5-C6 radiculopathy.

Baldwin returned to People's Health Center on February 26, 1997, for a follow-up of right shoulder pain and right hand numbness. He claimed that his medications were not helping. Baldwin reported that he had seen a psychiatrist the previous week and had been placed on Prozac and other medication to help him sleep. He was advised to continue taking Ultram for pain control and to remain on Tagamet for peptic ulcer disease. In addition, Baldwin was encouraged to follow up with a psychiatrist and continue taking his medications. The administrative record does not reflect that Baldwin returned to the psychiatrist.

ii. Administration Referrals

The Administration sent Baldwin to four consultative examinations. On September 3, 1996, he saw Llewellyn Sale Jr., M.D. Baldwin reported impairments in his back, side, arms, legs, and left foot due to shrapnel remnants from his service in Vietnam.⁴ He wore a support in his left shoe, and he noted a "peculiar" feeling in his stomach and a twenty-pound weight loss in the three months prior to the appointment. He smoked forty cigarettes a day when he could get them. Baldwin reported a past history of alcohol and drug abuse.

Dr. Sale reported a decreased range of motion of the back as well as slight tenderness over the sacroiliac joints in the lumbar spine and very slight paravertebral lumbar muscle spasm. Straight leg raising caused slight discomfort in the thigh. Baldwin experienced tenderness to pressure on the plantar surface of the left foot in the metatarsal area. Dr. Sale noted no specific joint abnormalities and only a slight decrease in muscle strength, without motor or sensory deficits. Dr. Sale indicated that Baldwin was somewhat belligerent during the examination. He documented multiple aches and pains in the back, side, arms, legs, and foot, some of which were due to shrapnel wounds. Dr. Sale noted that Baldwin experienced discomfort in the lower back when bending. Baldwin was unable to squat, had a poor ability to heel walk, and did not toe walk due to pain. Baldwin's gait was only slightly impaired with a slight limp on the left without the use of an assistive device. Dr. Sale also noted that Baldwin had a "stress reaction" that may have influenced him to some degree.

On September 23, 1996, Baldwin saw Paul W. Rexroat, Ph.D., for a second consultative examination. Baldwin indicated that he served in Vietnam from 1965 to 1967, but was discharged for "bad behavior." He noted that he changed jobs frequently due to difficulty working with others. Baldwin denied receiving any psychiatric treatment or counseling with the exception of one visit for psychotherapy. Upon examination, Dr. Rexroat noted that Baldwin was mildly suspicious, but was not anxious, tense, or weepy. Dr. Rexroat gave him a Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF) score of 68 out of 100. Dr. Rexroat noted that Baldwin initially exhibited a restricted emotional response, but that he began responding normally over the course of the examination. Although Baldwin stated that he was depressed, Dr. Rexroat noted that Baldwin's affect and energy level were normal, and he did not appear to be depressed. His activities were not diminished, and his sleep and appetite were normal. When Baldwin was asked to describe his "flashbacks," he described "intense thoughts or brooding about things that angered him." Dr. Rexroat believed that Baldwin's suspicions of people attacking him were not unusual due to his homelessness. Dr. Rexroat suspected that Baldwin abused alcohol and drugs. He opined that Baldwin had mild limitations in activities of daily living, moderate limitations in social functioning, and mild limitations in deficiencies in concentration, persistence, pace, and memory. Dr. Rexroat diagnosed antisocial personality disorder.

On January 8, 1997, Ibe Onuka Ibe, M.D., performed a third consultative examination. Baldwin stated that he received a "bad-behavior" discharge from the service because he "blew up 15 people and killed one of them." He had been fired from almost all of his jobs because he could not get along with other people. Baldwin indicated that he began drinking at the age of five and still drank heavily; however, he believed drinking had never been a problem for him. Dr. Ibe noted that Baldwin claimed he had never received any psychiatric treatment. During the examination, Baldwin left when Dr. Ibe suggested that he possibly had an attitude problem. Dr. Ibe's diagnoses were alcohol dependence, impulse-control disorder, possible dysthymic disorder, and antisocial personality disorder. He assigned Baldwin a GAF score of 35.

On January 14, 1997, Warren M. Lonergan, M.D., performed a fourth consultative examination. Baldwin reported that he smoked approximately four cigarettes per day and did not drink alcohol. Examination revealed full range of motion of the back without any tenderness or paravertebral muscle spasm. Straight leg raising was negative. With regard to the musculoskeletal examination, Dr. Lonergan stated, "In looking over all the areas of the body in which he complains I could find nothing with which to believe that he has any significant pain of the area." He concluded that Baldwin was capable of sitting, standing, walking, lifting, carrying, handling, hearing, speaking, and traveling. He attached no limitations to these activities.

B. Administrative Hearing and Appeals

At the hearing on May 27, 1997, Baldwin testified that he was disabled due to numbness and other problems with his back, knees, left foot, and neck, and he claimed he suffered from depression. He claimed he had not abused alcohol and cocaine since 1990. Baldwin indicated that he currently drank non-alcoholic beer, and that he had not had alcohol for three or four months. Baldwin testified that when he drank alcohol, his Prozac and pain pills were ineffective. Baldwin testified that he smoked a package of cigarettes every two to three days. Baldwin testified that he lived in a shelter on and off for two years, but he had lived in an apartment during the nine months prior to the hearing. Baldwin was able to cook, clean, mop, wash dishes, shop for groceries once a month, do laundry, occasionally help the church pick up trash off the lawn, listen to the radio, and visit with friends and relatives "just about every day." In addition, he testified that he attended four years of trade school operating heavy equipment. He used his training to operate backhoes, graders, trenchers, cherry pickers, dozers, compactors, air compressors, concrete rakers, and cranes. Baldwin testified that he could lift or carry twenty to twenty-five pounds, but that the farthest he could walk was two or three blocks due to problems with his left foot. Baldwin testified that he could stand for twenty to twenty-five minutes, and that if he altered his position, he could sit in a chair about an hour before having to get up....