Choate v. Barnhart

• Decision Date: 11 August 2006
• Docket Number: No. 05-3964.,05-3964.
• Citation: 457 F.3d 865
• Parties: Larry D. CHOATE, Appellant, v. Jo Anne B. BARNHART, Commissioner, Social Security Administration, Appellee.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Eighth Circuit

457 F.3d 865

Larry D. CHOATE, Appellant, v. Jo Anne B. BARNHART, Commissioner, Social Security Administration, Appellee.

No. 05-3964.

United States Court of Appeals, Eighth Circuit.

Submitted: April 21, 2006.

Filed: August 11, 2006.

Dennis C. O'Dell, argued, Springfield, Missouri, for appellant.

Angela G. Thornton-Millard, Special Assistant U.S. Attorney, Kansas City, Missouri (Todd P. Graves and Frank V. Smith, III, on the brief), for appellee.

Before ARNOLD, COLLOTON, Circuit Judges, and BOGUE,¹ District Judge.

COLLOTON, Circuit Judge.

Larry Choate applied for disability insurance benefits and supplemental security income under Titles II and XVI of the Social Security Act. An administrative law judge ("ALJ") denied the application for benefits, finding that Choate is not disabled because he has sufficient residual function capacity to perform a significant number of jobs in the national economy. The Appeals Council denied review, and the district court² upheld the decision of the Commissioner. We affirm.

I.

On November 18, 2000, Choate went to an emergency room with chest pain, was diagnosed with non-Q-wave myocardial infarction, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease/asthma, hypertension, and substance abuse, and underwent an angioplasty. He filed an application for disability insurance benefits and supplemental social security income on August 1, 2001, claiming that he has been disabled since November 18, 2000, due to heart disease, asthma, and emphysema. On August 14 and November 16, 2001, Choate filed claimant questionnaires, describing worsening breathing problems and chest pain. Choate has undergone multiple angioplasties with stent placements and several coronary angiographies. He claims his conditions prevent him from performing his prior work as a laborer. He has worked inconsistently as a landscaper, plumber's assistant, construction laborer, dishwasher, and maintenance worker.

On January 8, 2002, Dr. Vincent Previt completed a residual function capacity assessment based on a review of Choate's medical records. From his diagnosis of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease ("COPD"), hypertension, coronary artery disease, and stents, Dr. Pevit found that Choate could occasionally lift twenty pounds, frequently lift ten pounds, stand or walk at least two hours in an eight-hour workday, and sit for six hours in a workday. He also recommended that Choate avoid exposure to temperature extremes, fumes and dusts, and hazards. Although he stated that Choate's allegations of chest pain and difficulty breathing are "partially credible," he also noted that Choate's treating physician advised regular aerobic exercise, which Dr. Pevit considered in his recommendation. (R. at 201).

Two treating physicians provided information supporting Choate's claims of disability due to his cardiac condition: Dr. Aaron Trone, who was Choate's primary care physician from February 19, 2003, to July 3, 2003, and Dr. Paul Freiman, who was Choate's treating cardiologist from June 21, 2002, through August 17, 2003. Dr. Trone completed a medical source statement on May 16, 2003, in which he opined that Choate could walk a total of two hours in an eight-hour workday, but only for ten minutes continuously, and that he could sit for four hours in a workday, but only for one hour continuously. Dr. Trone stated that Choate could lift ten pounds and that his work environment should have limited humidity, temperature extremes, dust, and fumes. Dr. Trone based these findings on Choate's history of angioplasties with stent placements, back and neck pain with somatic dysfunction, mild COPD, and a CT scan showing degenerative disc disease of his lumbar spine. (R. at 215-17).

Dr. Trone also submitted a letter dated August 18, 2003, listing Choate's conditions as severe coronary artery disease requiring stent placement on multiple occasions, chronic muskuloskeletal pain syndrome, hypertension, and chronic obstructive airway disease. He concluded that these conditions "prevent [Choate] from doing hard labor including bending, stooping, lifting or walking for extended periods of time," and added that "[d]oing so, in fact, could be life threatening due to his coronary artery disease." (R. at 300).

Dr. Freiman provided an opinion dated August 12, 2003, in which he stated that he had been treating Choate for atherosclerotic heart disease and previous coronary artery intervention. He noted that angiographies "have shown nonobstructive coronary artery disease and it has been felt that coronary artery spasm has played a significant role in this patient's symptomatology." (R. at 298). Dr. Freiman concluded that Choate has "symptoms of chest pain daily, exacerbated by physical exertion and associated with shortness of breath," and therefore "is disabled from a cardiac standpoint and in my opinion, is eligible for assistance due to medical disability." (Id.).

Choate also was treated for shortness of breath by pulmonologist Dr. James Coulter from June 13, 2002, through February 12, 2003. Dr. Coulter diagnosed him with chronic bronchitis secondary to long-standing tobacco abuse. In a narrative written on June 26, 2003, Dr. Coulter stated that Choate's oxygen levels have been at 98%, which is within the normal range. She also concluded that his Wright Peak Flow, a measurement of the point of the highest flow rate of air expelled from the lungs used to check airway impairment or the status of the lungs, see J.E. Schmidt, Attorneys' Dictionary of Medicine, at W-38, P-114 (2005), was 350, a level that does not meet the requirements for disability. (R. at 237). Dr. Coulter further stated that when Choate stops smoking and takes his medications regularly, a physical examination of his lungs is normal and there is no indication of wheezing or rhonchi.

Choate testified at an administrative hearing that the major difficulty preventing him from working was his breathing, which could trigger chest pain. He stated that prior to his stent repair, he had chest pain once a week, but that the procedure helped his condition. He said he takes muscle relaxers and nitroglycerin, and uses an inhaler and nebulizer. Choate also testified that he could walk a quarter or a half of a mile without stopping, stand for 30 to 45 minutes, sit for one to two hours, and lift 50 pounds, but that he needed to rest for 45 minutes to an hour routinely each day.

A vocational expert also testified at the hearing. He was asked to consider an individual with Choate's age, education and work experience, who could occasionally lift or move twenty pounds and frequently lift or move ten pounds, could stand for two hours and sit for six hours in a workday, and occasionally climb stairs, but who must avoid moderate exposure to fumes, dust, gas, and poor ventilation and concentrated exposure to cold or heat. The vocational expert opined that such an individual could perform a job as a cashier, security guard, or receptions information clerk. The expert testified that there are 1,000 cashier, 500 security, and 400 receptionist jobs in the Ozark region, 32,800 cashier, 10,936 security, and 12,140 receptionist jobs in Missouri, and 1.2 million cashier, 404,632 security, and 449,180 receptionist jobs in the United States. (R. at 413-17).

Based on this record, the ALJ determined that the "clinical and objective findings herein are inconsistent with allegations of total debilitation," (R. at 23), and that Choate's impairments were credible only "to the extent they indicate an ability to engage in activity exceeding the residual functional capacity set forth below." (R. at 24). The ALJ found that Choate had the residual functional capacity to lift and/or carry up to twenty pounds occasionally and ten pounds frequently, stand and/or walk six hours and sit six hours in a workday. He also determined that Choate could occasionally climb, balance, stoop, kneel, crouch, and crawl, and should avoid moderate exposure to fumes, odors, dusts, gases and poor ventilation, and avoid concentrated exposure to extreme heat and cold. He concluded that Choate could no longer perform his previous jobs, but "[b]ased on an exertional capacity for light work and the claimant's age, education and work experience," (R. at 27), found that he was not disabled. The ALJ determined that despite limitations preventing Choate from performing the full range of light work, there are still a significant number of jobs he can perform that are available in the national economy.

II.

We review de novo the district court's decision upholding the denial of benefits, and affirm if substantial evidence on the record as a whole supports the outcome. Ellis v. Barnhart, 392 F.3d 988, 993 (8th Cir.2005). Substantial evidence is evidence that a reasonable mind would find adequate to support the decision of the Commissioner. Id.

The ALJ applied the appropriate five-step test to determine whether Choate was disabled: 1) whether the claimant is currently employed, 2) whether the claimant is severely impaired, 3) whether the impairment is, or is comparable to, a listed impairment, 4) whether the claimant can perform past relevant work, and if not, 5) whether the claimant can perform any other kind of work. Cox v. Barnhart, 345 F.3d 606, 608 n. 1 (8th Cir.2003). The ALJ found that Choate was not fully credible and determined at the fifth step of the analysis that Choate was not disabled.

A.

On appeal, Choate argues that the ALJ erred in failing to give controlling weight to the opinions of the treating physicians, Dr. Trone and Dr. Freiman. A treating physician's medical opinion is given controlling weight if that opinion is "well-supported by medically acceptable clinical and laboratory diagnostic techniques and is not inconsistent with the other substantial evidence in [the] case record." 20 C.F.R. § 404.1527(d)(2). These opinions are not automatically controlling, however, because the record must be evaluated as a whole. Reed v. Barnhart,...