Cruze v. Chater

• Decision Date: 07 June 1996
• Docket Number: No. 95-3334,95-3334
• Citation: 85 F.3d 1320
• Parties: , Unempl.Ins.Rep. (CCH) P 15241B Ralph R. CRUZE, Appellant, v. Shirley S. CHATER, Commissioner of Social Security, Appellee.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Eighth Circuit

Page 1320

85 F.3d 1320

51 Soc.Sec.Rep.Ser. 25, Unempl.Ins.Rep. (CCH) P 15241B

Ralph R. CRUZE, Appellant, v. Shirley S. CHATER, Commissioner of Social Security, Appellee.

No. 95-3334.

United States Court of Appeals Eighth Circuit.

Submitted March 15, 1996.

Decided June 7, 1996.

Robert W. Pratt, Des Moines, IA, argued, for Appellant.

Inga Bumbary-Langston, Asst. U.S. Atty., Des Moines, IA, argued, for Appellee.

Before MAGILL, HEANEY, and MORRIS SHEPPARD ARNOLD, Circuit Judges.

MAGILL, Circuit Judge.

Ralph Cruze appeals from the district court's ¹ order affirming the Secretary of Health and Human Services' denial of disability benefits under Title II of the Social Security Act, 42 U.S.C. §§ 401-433 (1994). In denying benefits, the administrative law judge (ALJ) found that although Cruze could not return to his past work, he could obtain gainful employment. Because this decision is supported by substantial evidence, we affirm.

I.

At the time he applied for disability benefits on March 29, 1993, Cruze was fifty-one years old and had worked as a maintenance electrician at the Dial Corporation in Fort Madison, Iowa, for the past fifteen years. In his application, Cruze stated that he was disabled due to heart problems. In September 1992, Cruze had suffered a heart attack, for which he was hospitalized. A cardiac catheterization showed lesioning of several of the blood vessels surrounding Cruze's heart. Cruze was again admitted to the hospital on January 25, 1993, this time for light-headedness. Cardiac testing revealed atrial tachyrhythmia, which responded well to cardiac electrical stimulation. Finally, in March 1993, Cruze underwent a quadruple coronary artery bypass operation to combat three-vessel coronary artery disease.

The Secretary denied Cruze's application initially and on reconsideration because Cruze's condition did not meet the statutory definition for disability. Cruze sought a hearing before an ALJ, which was held on April 11, 1994. At the hearing, the ALJ heard medical evidence from Dr. Austin, Cruze's treating physician, and from Dr. Nichols and Dr. Minks, consulting physicians. Cruze also testified as to his subjective accounts of pain and his daily living activities.

After the hearing, the ALJ evaluated Cruze's claim according to the five-step analysis prescribed by Social Security Administration Regulations. See 20 C.F.R. § 404.1520(b)-(f) (1993). The ALJ found at the first step that Cruze was not currently working, at the second step that Cruze had a severe impairment, at the third step that Cruze's impairment did not meet or equal a listed impairment presumed to be disabling, and at the fourth step that Cruze's impairment prevented him from doing his past relevant work as a maintenance engineer.

After the claimant has shown that he is precluded from doing past relevant work, at step five of the analysis the burden shifts to the Secretary to demonstrate that the claimant possesses the residual functional capacity to perform jobs that exist in the national economy. See Cline v. Sullivan, 939 F.2d 560, 564 (8th Cir.1991). Based on the medical testimony presented at the hearing, as well as Cruze's testimony, the ALJ concluded that Cruze possessed the residual functional capacity

to perform the physical exertional and nonexertional requirements of work except for lifting and carrying of more than 20 pounds occasionally or 10 pounds frequently; more than occasional stooping, kneeling, crawling, crouching, climbing, or balancing; exposure to concentrations of heat, humidity, or cold; or work which involves more than low to moderate levels of stress.

Decision at 13. The ALJ posed a hypothetical question incorporating these limitations to Leona Martin, a vocational expert (VE), who replied that Cruze could still perform work as a light cleaner, office helper or messenger, or mail clerk. The VE further testified that these positions exist in significant numbers in the national economy.

Based on the response given by the VE, the ALJ denied Cruze's application for benefits. The denial was upheld by the district court, and this appeal followed.

II.

We must affirm the decision of the ALJ if it is supported by substantial evidence. 42 U.S.C. § 405(g). Substantial evidence "is less than a preponderance, but enough so that a reasonable mind might find it adequate to support the conclusion." Oberst v. Shalala, 2 F.3d 249, 250 (8th Cir.1993). Thus, "[w]e do not reweigh the evidence or review the factual record de novo." Naber v. Shalala, 22 F.3d 186, 188 (8th Cir.1994). Rather, "if it is possible to draw two inconsistent positions from the evidence and one of those positions represents the agency's findings, we must affirm the decision." Oberst, 2 F.3d at 250 (quoting Robinson v. Sullivan, 956 F.2d 836, 838 (8th Cir.1992)).

Testimony from a VE based on a properly phrased hypothetical question constitutes substantial evidence. See Miller v. Shalala, 8 F.3d 611, 613 (8th Cir.1993) (per curiam); cf. Hinchey v. Shalala, 29 F.3d 428, 432 (8th Cir.1994) (when hypothetical question does not encompass all relevant impairments, VE's testimony does not constitute substantial evidence to support the ALJ's decision). The ALJ's hypothetical question need "include only those impairments that the ALJ finds are substantially supported by the record as a whole." Id. (citing Stout v. Shalala, 988 F.2d 853, 855 (8th Cir.1993)); see also Morse v. Shalala, 32 F.3d 1228, 1230 (8th Cir.1994).

Cruze challenges the ALJ's determination that he does not suffer from a walking or standing limitation. Cruze contends that the evidence of his cardiac problems ² demonstrates that he does suffer from this limitation, and thus the hypothetical was incomplete for not including this impairment. Cruze also challenges the ALJ's description of his lifting and carrying limitations. We conclude that the ALJ's impairment determination was supported by substantial evidence, and that the hypothetical question was therefore accurate and complete.

A.

The evidence concerning whether Cruze suffered from a standing or walking limitation can be broadly broken down into three categories: (1) testimony from Drs. Nichols and Minks, based on objective medical evidence, who concluded that Cruze did not suffer from such a limitation; (2) evidence of Cruze's daily living activities, which likewise supports the ALJ's decision; and (3) evidence detracting from the ALJ's decision, including testimony from Dr. Austin and from Cruze.

1. Dr. Nichols' and Dr. Minks' Assessments

Dr. Nichols and Dr. Minks concluded that Cruze did not suffer from a walking or standing limitation. They based their assessments on a review of the objective medical findings of Dr. Austin.

Cruze underwent three successful treadmill tests, ³ in November 1992 (exercise time of eleven minutes and twenty seconds), February 1993 (exercise time of fourteen minutes and thirty-four seconds), and July 1993 (exercise time of twelve minutes and seventeen seconds). Cruze reached his target heart rate on all three tests. After each test, Dr. Austin concluded that Cruze tested negative for both chest pain and arrhythmia.

Evidence of ischemia, on the other hand, was mixed. The November and February tests were positive for ischemia (the November test only weakly so). However, in February, despite the positive test for ischemia, Dr. Austin concluded that Cruze's achieved energy levels would qualify him to work, although the results were not sufficient enough for Cruze to return to his prior job.

Cruze demonstrated remarkable improvement on the July test. While he had some postoperational pain, he experienced only mild to moderate shortness of breath, no faint-headedness, and no leg cramps. Significantly, the test was negative for ischemia as well as chest pain and arrhythmia.

Dr. Nichols, after reviewing these objective medical findings, concluded that Cruze could walk or stand for approximately six hours out of an eight-hour day, and that Cruze could sit for at least six hours in a day. ⁴ Dr. Nichols noted that while Cruze had small areas of ischemia, the July 1993 treadmill test was negative for ischemia at 8.6 METS, and that in September, Cruze's gait was normal. Thus, Dr. Nichols determined that Cruze's cardiac problems do not disable him; rather, they merely limit him to light work.

Dr. Minks came to a conclusion similar to that of Dr. Nichols. After reviewing the file in July 1993, Dr. Minks noted that Cruze "has no limitations in standing, sitting, pushing, pulling, or the use of hand or foot controls." ⁵ Tr. at 276. Dr. Minks further noted that, as of July 1993, Cruze was "really not disabled at present," id.; however, he deferred to Cruze's treating physician's view that Cruze should restrict his activities.

2. Cruze's Daily Activities

The diagnoses of Dr. Nichols and Dr. Minks are fully supported in the record by evidence of Cruze's therapy and daily activities. Before his operation in March 1993, Cruze regularly drove a car, performed light housework, and visited friends daily at a coffee shop. After the March operation, Cruze participated in cardiac rehabilitation and education. At therapy, he was able to walk independently for 800 feet and climb three steps at a time. Therapy goals were noted to have been met.

Less than six months later, in August 1993, Cruze was engaged in an active lifestyle, including mowing his lawn; shopping in town, usually once or twice a week for two to three hours per trip; visiting with friends; caring for a number of farm animals such as cows and chickens, which entailed lifting and carrying ten-pound feed buckets to the animals; and performing odd jobs such as building birdcages and welding for himself and for his neighbors. Such activities tend to prove that Cruze is able to work. Naber, 22 F.3d at 188 (complainant's desire to work part-time on his brother's ranch or in a paintshop or woodshop "tends to prove" that the complainant was able to...