Draper v. Barnhart

• Decision Date: 13 October 2005
• Docket Number: No. 05-1483.,05-1483.
• Citation: 425 F.3d 1127
• Parties: Teena DRAPER, Appellant, v. Jo Anne B. BARNHART, Commissioner, Social Security Administration, Appellee.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Eighth Circuit

425 F.3d 1127

Teena DRAPER, Appellant, v. Jo Anne B. BARNHART, Commissioner, Social Security Administration, Appellee.

No. 05-1483.

United States Court of Appeals, Eighth Circuit.

Submitted: September 21, 2005.

Filed: October 13, 2005.

COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED

Richard S. Muse, Hot Springs, Arkansas, for appellant.

Martin, W. Long, U.S. Social Security Administration, Dallas, Texas, for appellee.

Before MURPHY, HEANEY, and MELLOY, Circuit Judges.

HEANEY, Circuit Judge.

Teena Draper appeals from a judgment of the United States District Court for the Western District of Arkansas affirming the decision of an administrative law judge (ALJ), on behalf of the Commissioner of the Social Security Administration (Commissioner). The ALJ found that Draper was not entitled to a period of disability insurance benefits nor eligible for Supplemental Security Income under the Social Security Act. We reverse and remand.

Background

Teena Draper is a 34-year-old single woman. She is a high school graduate and has an Associate degree from a technical college. She served in the United States Army Reserves from May 1984 to May 1990. After graduating from college, she worked at the International Paper Company from 1987 to 1996, and the Pine Bluff Cutting Tool Company from March 1996 to October 1996. She was self-employed from December 1996 to December 1997. In February 1998, she commenced working for the DUB Clenney Construction Company. On April 6, 1999, she suffered an injury at work that resulted in a herniated disk and two bulging disks. Draper received therapy and other treatment for her back injuries over a period of time. All treating physicians agreed that she was anxious to return to work and that there was no evidence of malingering on her part.

In 2000, Draper took a job with the Malvern Country Club as a cashier, earning $14,000 a year. In 2001, Draper was hired by Carolyn Overton Electric, Inc. (Overton). She testified that one day a supervisor of that company came into the Country Club and offered her a job, knowing she had a bad back. Draper worked at Overton for a little over a year, but it is not at all clear from the record precisely what work she did while employed at Overton. It appears that she initially fed boards into a paint line, and was later moved to another position, supervising employees painting boards, watching production reports, and keeping an eye on the machines. Draper eventually left Overton, due to extreme pain in her lower back, her hips, and her thighs. She testified: "Well, I didn't quit. I just wasn't able to go out there and work. And he didn't have anything I could do." (Admin. Agency R. at 164.)

On September 20, 2002, Draper filed an application for disability insurance benefits and Supplemental Security Income payments. The claim was denied initially and upon reconsideration. The ALJ found that Draper has degenerative disk disease of the lumbosacral spine, a severe impairment, but not one severe enough to meet or medically equal a listed impairment. The ALJ further found that Draper was unable to perform any of her past relevant work, but denied relief under the theory that she had the residual functional capacity to perform a full range of light work. A vocational expert was not called to determine whether there was available work in the national economy that Draper could actually perform in light of her exertional and nonexertional limitations. Draper then sought relief in district court, which also denied her claim. This appeal followed.

Discussion

In reviewing the Commissioner's ruling, our task is to determine if her denial of benefits is supported by substantial evidence. Brosnahan v. Barnhart, 336 F.3d 671, 675-76 (8th Cir.2003). Substantial evidence has been described as "less than a preponderance, but enough that a reasonable mind would find it adequate to support the Commissioner's decision." Id. at 675. Such a determination requires us not only to consider evidence in the record that supports the Commissioner's determination, but also any evidence that detracts from that conclusion. Hutsell v. Massanari, 259 F.3d 707, 711 (8th Cir.2001). While a "deficiency in opinion-writing is not a sufficient reason to set aside an ALJ's finding where the deficiency [has] no practical effect on the outcome of the case," inaccuracies, incomplete analyses, and unresolved conflicts of evidence can serve as a basis for remand. Reeder v. Apfel, 214 F.3d 984, 988 (8th Cir.2000); Boyd v. Sullivan, 960 F.2d 733, 736 (8th Cir.1992).

We are troubled by a material inconsistency in the ALJ's findings and conclusions, which necessitates a remand. The ALJ found that Draper was unable to perform any of her past work. This past work included work as a cashier, a supervisor, and other work at Overton. Draper's work as a cashier is properly classified as light work, as was some of the work she performed at Overton, mainly supervising a paint line. See generally § 211, Cashiers and Tellers, Dictionary of Occupational Titles, (4th ed.); and § 840.131-010, -014, Painting Supervisor. Because the record does not specify the other work Draper did at Overton, we cannot say whether it would be classified as sedentary, light, medium, or heavy. See 20 C.F.R. §§ 404.1567 & 416.967 (defining work classifications). The ALJ's finding that Draper cannot perform her past work is therefore clearly inconsistent with the ALJ's conclusion that Draper "has the residual functional capacity to perform the full range of light work." (Admin. Agency R. at 24.) Obviously, the Commissioner cannot meet its burden to show Draper has the residual functional capacity to perform light work, given the ALJ's contrary conclusion with respect to Draper's past work. See Pearsall v. Massanari, 274 F.3d 1211, 1217 (8th Cir.2001) (noting that once a claimant establishes inability to perform her past relevant work, the burden shifts to the Commissioner to "prove that there are other jobs in the national economy that the claimant can perform"). Thus, we must remand for further proceedings to resolve this conflict.¹

The ALJ further found that Draper's allegations of disabling pain were "inconsistent with her reports with regard to her normal daily activities and are therefore not considered credible." (Admin. Agency R. at 21.) Substantial evidence on the record as a whole does not support this conclusion. Draper testified that after she was injured, she went back to work at the Malvern Country Club as a cashier and then as an employee at Overton. She further testified that she had to leave the job at Overton because the pain was so bad in her lower back, left hip, and thighs that she could not take it. She stated she is no longer able to work. She walks around and tries, with the help of her brother and mother, to keep her home clean, but takes care not to exert herself. She does not want to sit all the time, because sitting for prolonged periods makes her pain worse. She can sit for twenty minutes without being in pain, drive a car, and stand without difficulty for ten or fifteen minutes. She can bend over, but cannot get up, and she can lift six to eight pounds. She does her own cooking, mopping, and sweeping, but when she starts to feel pain, she sits down. She has difficulty sleeping, regularly waking up at 2:00 a.m., 4:00 a.m., and 6:00 a.m.² (Admin. Agency R. 167-174.)

The ALJ discounted the above evidence because Draper's activities of daily living involved some light exertional activities, such as household chores, laundry, grocery shopping, mowing, and other chores.³ The fact...