Feild v. Apfel

• Decision Date: 31 December 1998
• Docket Number: No. 98-2108 D/A.,98-2108 D/A.
• Citation: 34 F.Supp.2d 1081
• Parties: Adrianne R. FEILD, Plaintiff, v. Kenneth S. APFEL, Commissioner of Social Security, Defendant.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Western District of Tennessee

34 F.Supp.2d 1081

Adrianne R. FEILD, Plaintiff, v. Kenneth S. APFEL, Commissioner of Social Security, Defendant.

No. 98-2108 D/A.

United States District Court, W.D. Tennessee, Western Division.

December 31, 1998.

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Wanda Donati, Donati & Associates, P.C., Memphis, TN, for Adrianne Feild, plaintiff.

Brian J. Quarles, U.S. Attorney's Office, Veronica Coleman, United States Attorney's Office, Memphis, TN, for Kenneth S. Apfel, Commissioner of Social Security, defendant.

ORDER REVERSING AND REMANDING THE CLAIMANT'S CASE

DONALD, District, Judge.

Claimant, Adrianne Feild, filed this appeal after being denied disability benefits by the Commissioner of Social Security. The Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) rendered a ruling against the claimant, and the Appeals Council denied review. The claimant's case is reversed and remanded to the ALJ for reconsideration based upon the correct education level, and possible use of a vocational expert.

I. BACKGROUND FACTS

The claimant suffers from insulin dependent diabetes mellitus. The claimant maintains that she suffers from non-exertional limitations associated with peripheral neuropathy and mental retardation. The claimant avers that her symptoms include spots in her vision, sores on her feet, numbness in her hands, face and legs, and problems sitting for long periods of time.

Claimant, a 29 year-old black female, did not finish high school (attended until the eleventh grade), and did not receive a GED. Claimant has only been employed on part-time jobs, lasting less than two months. Therefore, claimant does not have relevant past work experience.

The ALJ determined that claimant retains the residual functional capacity to perform light work.¹ The ALJ shifted the burden to the Commissioner to show that the claimant can perform jobs which exist in the national economy in significant numbers. The ALJ concluded that the Commissioner successfully met his burden.

II. JURISDICTION

The claimant is a resident of Memphis, Shelby County, Tennessee which is in the Western District of Tennessee. The claimant timely pursued and exhausted all administrative remedies with the Commissioner before filing this appeal. Therefore, this Court has jurisdiction over the claimant's claim pursuant to 42 U.S.C. §§ 405(g) and 1383(c)(3)

III. STANDARD OF REVIEW

Judicial review of the Commissioner's decision is limited to determining whether the Commissioner's findings are supported by substantial evidence, and whether the Commissioner employed the proper legal standards in reaching his conclusion. Richardson v. Perales, 402 U.S. 389, 401, 91 S.Ct. 1420, 1427, 28 L.Ed.2d 842 (1971). Substantial evidence is more than a scintilla of evidence, but less than a preponderance. Consolidated Edison Co. v. NLRB, 305 U.S. 197, 229, 59 S.Ct. 206, 216, 83 L.Ed. 126 (1938). Substantial evidence is such relevant evidence that a reasonable mind might accept as adequate to support a conclusion. Id.

When determining whether the Commissioner's findings are supported by substantial evidence, we must examine the evidence in the record "taken as a whole." George v. Sullivan, 909 F.2d 857, 859 (6th Cir.1990); citing Allen v. Califano, 613 F.2d 139, 145 (6th Cir.1980). We do not review the evidence de novo, make credibility determinations nor weigh the evidence. Brainard v. Secretary of Health and Human Services, 889 F.2d 679, 681 (6th Cir.1989), citing Reynolds v. Secretary of Health and Human Services, 707 F.2d 927 (6th Cir.1983). The decision of the ALJ is not subject to reversal, even if there is substantial evidence in the record that would have supported an opposite conclusion, so long as substantial evidence supports the conclusion reached by the ALJ. Key v. Callahan, 109 F.3d 270, 273 (6th Cir.1997).

IV. RULE OF LAW

The Commissioner has established a five-step sequential evaluation process for determining whether a person is disabled. Bowen v. Yuckert, 482 U.S. 137, 140, 107 S.Ct. 2287, 2291, 96 L.Ed.2d 119 (1987); citing 20 C.F.R. § 404.1520. Step one determines whether the claimant is engaged in "substantial gainful activity"; if so, benefits are denied. Id. Step two, if the claimant is not, then the decision-maker determines whether the claimant has a medically severe impairment or combination of impairments; if found not severe, benefits are denied. Id. at 140, 141, 107 S.Ct. 2287. Step three, if the impairment is severe, the evaluation process determines whether the impairment is equivalent to one of the number of listed impairments that the Commissioner acknowledges are so severe as to preclude substantial gainful activity. Id. at 141, 107 S.Ct. 2287. Step four, if the impairment is not one that is conclusively presumed to be disabling, the Commissioner determines whether the impairment prevents the claimant from performing work she has performed in the past. Id. If the claimant cannot perform this work, the final step in the process is to determine whether she is able to perform other work in the national economy in view of her age, education, and work experience. Id. at 142, 107 S.Ct. 2287. The claimant is entitled to disability benefits only if she is not able to perform work. Id.

V. LEGAL ANALYSIS

A. The Claimant's Subjective Complaints of Impairments and Limitations

The measure of an individual's pain cannot be easily reduced to a matter of neat calculations. Jones v. Secretary, Health and Human Services, 945 F.2d 1365, 1369 (6th Cir. 1991). There are no x-rays that can be taken that would objectively show the precise level of agony that an individual is experiencing. Id. Hence, in evaluating the intensity and persistence of pain, both physicians and laymen alike, must often engage in guesswork. Id. Claims of disability due to pain have been decided on a case by case basis. Duncan v. Secretary of Health and Human Services, 801 F.2d 847, 852 (6th Cir.1986).

Since the ALJ had the opportunity to observe the demeanor of the claimant, her conclusions with respect to credibility "should not be discarded lightly." Varley v. Secretary of Health & Human Services, 820 F.2d 777, 780 (6th Cir.1987); citing Houston v. Secretary of Health and Human Services, 736 F.2d 365, 367 (6th Cir.1984) (quoting Beavers v. Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare, 577 F.2d 383, 387 (6th Cir. 1978)). Courts have recognized that determinations of credibility related to subjective complaints of pain rest with the ALJ, and that "the ALJ's opportunity to observe the demeanor of the claimant `is invaluable, and should not be discarded lightly.'" Duncan v. Secretary of Health and Human Services, 801 F.2d 847, 852 (6th Cir.1986); citing Kirk v. Secretary of Health and Human Services, 667 F.2d 524, 538 (6th Cir.1981) (quoting Beavers v. Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare, 577 F.2d 383, 387 (6th Cir. 1978)).

Courts recognize that "an individual's statement as to pain or other symptoms shall not alone be conclusive evidence of disability." Cohen v. Secretary of DHHS, 964 F.2d 524, 529 (6th Cir.1992); citing 42 U.S.C. § 423(d)(5)(A).² See also 20 C.F.R. § 404.1529(a). Additionally, the Social Security Act provides that, in considering whether a person is disabled under Title II, "[o]bjective medical evidence of pain or other symptoms established by medically acceptable clinical or laboratory techniques must be considered in reaching a conclusion as to whether the individual is under a disability." Jones v. Secretary, Health and Human Services, 945 F.2d 1365, 1369 (6th Cir.1991); citing 42 U.S.C. § 423(d)(5)(A).

Under this standard, the evaluation of subjective complaints regarding disabling pain is two-pronged. Jones, 945 F.2d at 1369; citing Duncan v. Secretary of Health and Human Services, 801 F.2d 847, 853 (6th Cir.1986). We must determine whether there is objective medical evidence of an underlying medical condition. Id. If there is, we then examine: (1) whether objective medical evidence confirms the severity of the alleged pain arising from the condition, or (2) whether the objectively established medical condition is of such a severity that it can reasonably be expected to produce the alleged disabling pain. Id. However, the Commissioner will not reject a claimant's statements about the intensity and persistence of her pain, or other symptoms or about the effect her symptoms have on her ability to work, solely because the available objective medical evidence does not substantiate her statements. 20 C.F.R. § 404.1529(c)(2). Medical history and objective medical evidence (such as evidence of muscle atrophy, reduced joint motion, muscle spasm, sensory and motor disruption) are usually reliable indicators from which to draw reasonable conclusions about the intensity and persistence of pain, and the effect such pain may have on the individual's work capacity. Jones, 945 F.2d at 1369-1370.

A claimant may rely, in part, on her own testimony in combination with objective medical evidence in order to establish that she is disabled. Cohen, 964 F.2d at 529. In determining whether a claimant is entitled to disability insurance payments, medical opinions and diagnoses of the treating physician are entitled to great weight, and if uncontradicted, are entitled to complete deference. Cohen, 964 F.2d at 528; citing King v. Heckler, 742 F.2d 968, 973 (6th Cir.1984). The treating physician has had greater opportunity to examine and observe the patient, and as a result, the medical opinion of the treating physician is given substantial deference. Walker v. Secretary of Health and Human Services, 980 F.2d 1066, 1070 (6th Cir.1992). Generally, the Commissioner gives more weight to opinions from treating sources, since these sources are likely to be the medical professionals most able to provide a detailed, longitudinal picture of a claimant's medical impairment(s), and may bring a unique perspective to the medical evidence that cannot be obtained from the objective medical...