Ephrain S. v. Berryhill

• Decision Date: 21 February 2019
• Docket Number: No. 18 C 2258,18 C 2258
• Citation: 355 F.Supp.3d 738
• Parties: EPHRAIN S., Plaintiff, v. Nancy A. BERRYHILL, Acting Commissioner of Social Security, Defendant.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Northern District of Illinois

355 F.Supp.3d 738

EPHRAIN S., Plaintiff,

v.Nancy A. BERRYHILL, Acting Commissioner of Social Security, Defendant.

No. 18 C 2258

United States District Court, N.D. Illinois, Eastern Division.

Signed February 21, 2019

Barry Alan Schultz, Law Offices of Barry A. Schultz, Evanston, IL, for Plaintiff.

Kathryn Ann Kelly, SSA, AUSA, Donald R. Lorenzen, United States Attorney's Office, Chicago, IL, for Defendant.

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

INTRODUCTION

Ephrain S.¹ applied for Disability Insurance Benefits ("DIB") and Supplemental Security Income under Titles II and XVI of the Social Security Act ("Act"). 42 U.S.C. §§ 416(i), 423, 1382c(3)(A), nearly seven years ago. (Administrative Record (R.) 463-69). He claimed that he became disabled as of November 13, 2007 (R. 463), due to lumbar spine damage, tendinitis

in both arms, groin injury, esophageal problems, prostate problems, and arthritis in both knees and back. (R. 529). Over the ensuing several years, Mr. S.'s application was denied at the initial, reconsideration, and administrative law judge (ALJ), levels. (R. 133-211). The appeals council then remanded his claim back to the ALJ for another decision, directing the ALJ to make another residual functional capacity finding with appropriate support from the record, and to obtain evidence from a vocational expert as to the effect of Mr. S.'s limitations on the occupational base and whether he has any transferable skills. (R. 17, 214-15). On remand, the ALJ again found that Mr. S. was disabled as of August 6, 2015, which was after his insured status expired on June 30, 2014, meaning he was entitled to SSI but not DIB. (R. 17-30). It is the ALJ's decision that is before the court for review. See 20 C.F.R. §§ 404.955 ; 404.981. Mr. S. filed suit under 42 U.S.C. § 405(g), and the parties have consented to the jurisdiction of a Magistrate Judge pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 636(c). Mr. S. asks the court to reverse and remand the Commissioner's decision, while the Commissioner seeks an order affirming the decision.

ARGUMENT

I.

Mr. S. is 58 years old, and was nearly 55 at the time his insured status expired. (R. 17, 463). He is in the army reserves and has work experience as a corrections officer, a teaching assistant and, most recently, in sales at a home and garden center, which involved heavy work and a great deal of lifting, and was semi-skilled. (R. 118).

Mr. S.'s medical record is massive, weighing in at over 1200 pages (R. 609-1891), covering treatment for a laundry list of impairments, mostly due to problems with his back. But, as is often the case, and according to the parties in this case, very little of it is pertinent. Mr. S. cites to no more than two dozen pages of medical evidence to support his argument for overturning the ALJ's decision. (Dkt. # 16, at 1-2, 8-9). The Commissioner cites to a similar amount. (Dkt. # 20, 1, 5-9). Accordingly, we shall discuss only those treatment records and medical findings that the parties tell us matter.

After an administrative hearing – at which Mr. S., represented by counsel, and a medical expert and a vocational expert testified – the ALJ determined he was disabled, but not before the expiration of his insured status. The ALJ found that Mr. S. had severe lumbar degenerative disc disease

and lumber radiculopathy. (R. 20). The ALJ found that other impairments – edema, diverticulitis, and personality disorder – were non-severe. (R. 20-22). His mental impairment left him with only mild limitations in his ability to interact with others and maintain concentration, persistence, or pace, and no limitations on his ability to understand, remember, and apply information, or adapt and manage himself. (R. 20). None of Mr. S.'s impairments, singly or in combination, amounted to a condition that met or equaled an impairment assumed to be disabling in the Commissioner's listings. (R. 22). In reaching that conclusion, the ALJ specifically considered listing 1.04, for disorders of the spine

. (R. 23).

The ALJ then determined that Mr. S could perform "light work ... except: can stand and walk in combination up to one hour at a time and a total of four hours in an eight-hour workday; cannot climb ladders, ropes, or scaffolds; can occasionally climb ramps and stairs, balance, bend, stoop, kneel, crouch and crawl; cannot work around hazards such as unprotected heights and exposed moving mechanical parts; cannot tolerate concentrated exposure to extreme cold; must avoid even moderate exposure to excessive vibration; and is precluded from commercial driving." (R. 22). Along the way, the ALJ said that he found Mr. S.'s "medically determinable impairments could reasonably be expected to cause the alleged symptoms; however, [his] statements concerning the intensity, persistence and limiting effects of these symptoms are not fully supported for reasons explained in this decision." (R. 23). The ALJ based this conclusion on the medical record, and Mr. S.'s sporadic work history prior to his alleged onset date. (R. 23-27).

The ALJ then summarized the medical record and assessed reports from doctors. He gave great weight to the opinion given by the medical expert at the administrative hearing, as the expert was familiar with the regulations and his opinion was consistent with the weight of the objective medical findings. (R. 23-24). The ALJ gave some weight to the opinion from the doctor who examined Mr. S. for the agency, but felt Mr. S. was more restricted in keeping with the findings of the medical expert and agency reviewing physicians. (R. 25). The ALJ assigned the opinions from the reviewing agency physicians substantial weight as they were generally consistent with the weight of the medical evidence. (R. 26). The ALJ gave limited weight to an opinion from a doctor from Veterans' Affairs because it was unsigned and was pertinent to military service as opposed to work. (R. 26-27).

Finally, the ALJ gave considerable weight to the opinion of Mr. S.'s treating physician as to Mr. S.'s ability to stand and walk in an eight-hour day, saying it was consistent with his treatment and objective findings. Still, at the same time, the ALJ rejected those portions of the opinion that had to do with how long Mr. S. could walk or sit at one time, saying that was arbitrary and not supported by objective testing. (R. 27).

The ALJ rejected that portion of the doctor's opinion that concluded Mr. S. had to change positions frequently: sit for only 20-30 minutes at a time, stand for only 5-10 minutes at a time, and walk for 30-45 minutes at a time. He also rejected the doctor's recommendation that Mr. S. take unscheduled breaks during the workday and rest for 15-20 minutes during the workday. (R. 27). The ALJ felt these limitations were arbitrary and based on subjective complaints rather than objective findings. (R. 27).

The ALJ then found that, as of August 6, 2015, the date on which Mr. S. reached "advanced age" under the regulations, the Medical-Vocational Guideline directed a conclusion that Mr. S. was disabled under the Act. (R. 29). Prior to that date, because the Guidelines would have directed a finding of "not disabled" if Mr. S. had the capacity for a full range of light work, the ALJ relied on the testimony of the vocational expert as to whether there were jobs existing in significant numbers in the national economy that Mr. S. could do. As the vocational expert stated that he could be a cashier (60,000 jobs), a rental clerk (50,000 jobs), or an inspector (45,000 jobs), the ALJ determined that, prior to August 6, 2016, Mr. S. was not disabled and not entitled to benefits under the Act. (R. 29-30).

II.

If the ALJ's decision is supported by substantial evidence, the court on judicial review must uphold that decision even if the court might have decided the case differently in the first instance. See 42 U.S.C. § 405(g). Substantial evidence is "such relevant evidence as a reasonable mind might accept as adequate to support a conclusion." Richardson v. Perales , 402 U.S. 389, 401, 91 S.Ct. 1420, 28 L.Ed.2d 842 (1971) ; Beardsley v. Colvin , 758 F.3d 834, 836 (7th Cir. 2014). To determine whether substantial evidence exists, the court reviews the record as a whole, but does not attempt to substitute its judgment for the ALJ's by reweighing the evidence, resolving material conflicts, or reconsidering facts or the credibility of witnesses. Id. at 837. "Where conflicting evidence allows reasonable minds to differ as to whether a claimant is entitled to benefits," the court must defer to the Commissioner's resolution of that conflict. Binion v. Chater , 108 F.3d 780, 782 (7th Cir.1997) ; Schloesser v. Berryhill , 870 F.3d 712, 717 (7th Cir. 2017)

In the Seventh Circuit, an ALJ also has an obligation to build what is called a "logical bridge" between the evidence and the result to afford the claimant meaningful judicial review of the administrative findings. Varga v. Colvin , 794 F.3d 809, 813 (7th Cir. 2015) ; O'Connor–Spinner v. Astrue , 627 F.3d 614, 618 (7th Cir.2010). The court has to be able to trace the path of the ALJ's reasoning from evidence to conclusion. Minnick v. Colvin , 775 F.3d 929, 938 (7th Cir. 2015) ; Jelinek v. Astrue , 662 F.3d 805, 812 (7th Cir. 2011). Even if the court might otherwise agree with the ultimate result, the case must be remanded if the ALJ fails in his or her obligation to build the required "logical bridge."

Sarchet v. Chater , 78 F.3d 305, 307 (7th Cir. 1996) was the first case in this Circuit to use the phrase in the context of a Social Security case. There, in an Opinion by Judge Posner, the court said: "we cannot uphold a decision by an administrative agency, any more than we can uphold a decision by a district court, if, while there is enough evidence in the record to support the decision, the reasons given by the trier of fact do not build an accurate and logical bridge between the evidence and the result."² The point Judge Posner sought to make in Sarchet was that unexplained conclusions by ...