Clark v. Weinberger
| Decision Date | 26 July 1974 |
| Docket Number | Civ. A. No. 73-235. |
| Citation | 389 F. Supp. 1168 |
| Parties | Marshall W. CLARK, Jr. v. Caspar WEINBERGER, Secretary of the United States Department of Health, Education and Welfare. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — District of Vermont |
Kissane & Heald Assoc., Daniel J. Lynch, St. Albans, Vt., Douglas L. Molde, and Vermont Legal Aid, Inc., St. Albans, Vt., for plaintiff.
George F. W. Cook, U. S. Attorney, for defendant.
The plaintiff, an unemployed 38 year old male, seeks review in this court, pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 405(g), of a final decision of the Secretary denying him disability insurance benefits under the Social Security Act. A prior application for disability benefits was denied after hearing in 1969. The present application was made on September 8, 1970. After denial of the present application, a hearing was requested and granted. The hearing was conducted by an administrative law judge in Burlington, Vermont on October 17, 1971. Counsel was present to represent the plaintiff. The administrative law judge found "that the medical evidence of record fails to establish that up to June 30, 1971 the claimant's epileptic impairment was so severe that he was prevented thereby from engaging in any substantial gainful activity." June 30, 1971 was the last date the special earnings requirement was met. This decision was affirmed by the Appeals Council on June 25, 1973, after consideration of additional evidence submitted by the plaintiff.
In order to qualify for the claimed benefits the plaintiff must show a disability as defined by the Social Security Act. Section 216 (42 U.S.C. § 416(i) (1) of the act defines disability as "The inability to engage in any substantial gainful activity by reason of any medically determinable physical or mental impairment which can to be expected to result in death or which has lasted or can be expected to last for a continuous period of not less than 12 months."
The findings of an administrative agency are conclusive if supported by substantial evidence. Substantial evidence is "such relevant evidence as a reasonable mind might accept as adequate to support a conclusion." Consolidated Edison v. NLRB, 305 U.S. 197, 229, 59 S.Ct. 206, 217, 83 L.Ed. 126 (1938). To determine whether the findings are supported by substantial evidence the reviewing court is required, under § 706 of the Administrative Procedure Act, to examine the whole record; evidence detracting from the weight of the findings must be taken into account as well. Universal Camera Corp. v. NLRB, 340 U.S. 474, 487, 71 S. Ct. 456, 95 L.Ed. 456 (1951); Gold v. Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare, 463 F.2d 38 (2d Cir. 1972); Dolan v. Celebreeze, 381 F.2d 231 (2d Cir. 1967).
The principal impairment, which the plaintiff contends rendered him disabled prior to the date when he last met the special earnings requirement, was a recurrent seizure disorder, diagnosed as grand mal epilepsy. The medical evidence introduced at the hearing included reports and statements from various hospitals and physicians, as well as the plaintiff's own descriptions and those of his wife. The administrative law judge also considered exhibits from the prior hearing conducted in 1969.
According to the medical evidence, the plaintiff was admitted to the neurology clinic of the U. V. M. Medical Center with complaints about headaches and nausea in November 1968. An electrocardiogram and an electroencephalogram were normal. Radiograms of the skull showed no abnormality. Repeat brain scans were within normal limits. The plaintiff again visited the Medical Center on June 23, 1970, after being transferred there from the Kerbs Memorial Hospital emergency room for evaluation. He had passed out that morning and was taken by ambulance to Kerbs. An electroencephalogram report was normal. All neurological examinations were again within normal limits.
The plaintiff had also been consulting Dr. Robert Engisch since the mid-sixties. Dr. Engisch indicated in reports to the...
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Mongeur v. Heckler, 1433
...from which conflicting inferences can be drawn. 5 U.S.C. Secs. 701 et seq.; Gold v. Sec'y of H.E.W., 463 F.2d at 41; Clark v. Weinberger, 389 F.Supp. 1168, 1169 (D.Vt.1974), aff'd, 511 F.2d 1390 (2d Cir.1975). In addition, the district court may remand the case for the taking of additional ......
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...441 F.2d at 1195. It is within the province of the Secretary to evaluate and resolve any conflicts in the evidence, Clark v. Weinberger, 389 F.Supp. 1168, 1170 (D.Vt.1974), aff'd, 511 F.2d 1390 (2d Cir. 1975), and, therefore, in an appropriate case, the Secretary may reject the conclusion o......
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