Haley v. Massanari

• Decision Date: 31 May 2001
• Docket Number: No. 00-3163WA,00-3163WA
• Citation: 258 F.3d 742
• Parties: (8th Cir. 2001) ROBERT K. HALEY, APPELLANT, v. LARRY G. MASSANARI, ACTING COMMISSIONER, SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION, <A HREF="#fr1-1" name="fn1-1">1 APPELLEE. Submitted:
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Eighth Circuit

Page 742

258 F.3d 742 (8th Cir. 2001)

ROBERT K. HALEY, APPELLANT, v. LARRY G. MASSANARI, ACTING COMMISSIONER, SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION,¹ APPELLEE.

No. 00-3163WA

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE EIGHTH CIRCUIT

Submitted: May 31, 2001

Filed: August 2, 2001

On Appeal from the United States District Court for the Western District of Arkansas.

Before Morris Sheppard Arnold, Richard S. Arnold, and Fagg, Circuit Judges.

Richard S. Arnold, Circuit Judge.

Robert K. Haley² appeals the District Court's³ affirmance of the decision by the Commissioner of the Social Security Administration to deny his applications for Social Security disability benefits. We affirm.

I.

There are two applications for Social Security disability benefits to consider. Initially, Mr. Haley applied for disability benefits in 1990 due to a back injury he sustained on the job in 1989. Before filing this application, Mr. Haley worked as a field technician and construction worker for Northern Telecom. After his application was denied initially and on reconsideration, he requested a hearing before an administrative law judge (ALJ).

At the time of the hearing in 1991, he was 40 years old with a GED and some training in welding. He testified he had always worked in construction. At his prior employment, he put in, wired down, and moved equipment. Most of his time was spent standing, wiring, or lifting. He stated his previous job required very heavy lifting: he hurt his back lifting a 450 pound frame. On a scale of one to ten he rated his constant back pain between five and nine. He testified that two to four times a week he suffered chest pain caused by the pain in his back. Mr. Haley stated that raising too quickly from a bending position would result in numbness in his legs, and, if he moved the wrong way, pain would shoot from his shoulders down through his legs. He testified that he slept only five hours a night -- rising two to three times because of the pain. His hands swelled a couple times a week on account of the pain in his back, but the swelling did not interfere with his ability to grasp objects.

Mr. Haley testified that he could stand for approximately 15 to 20 minutes while washing dishes, but he estimated he could stand two to three hours if he was working. He could sit absolutely still for five minutes, but otherwise he could sit for one hour. He could walk one city block before he would have to sit or lie down, and he could lift 20 pounds frequently but not for eight hours a day. He also stated he had difficulty reaching and stooping. He did not take prescription medication because he did not believe in taking drugs. For the pain he took aspirin, Ibuprofen, and Alka-seltzer and used Ben-Gay. Mr. Haley also claimed he suffered from depression. The inability to do the things he used to do depressed him. He also stated he had trouble concentrating and he had very little memory.

As to his daily activities, Mr. Haley testified that he participated in the construction of his home. About four days a month he hung sheet rock in his home, although it took him hours to hang one piece. He said his family and friends did the heavy work. He also stated that he painted, cooked, washed dishes, vacuumed, laundered clothes, completed yard work, fished, visited friends, drove a car, took care of personal needs, shopped, and rode a stationary bike for about 45 minutes a day.

The medical evidence was inconclusive as to the source of intensity of Mr. Haley's pain. We need not state the evidence at this first hearing in detail. It is sufficient to say that Dr. Thomas Knox, an orthopedic surgeon, examined Mr. Haley and informed his employer that he was not disabled. Dr. David J. Fachting, a chiropractor, thought the claimant was incapable of performing his past work, but that he could do other work with restrictions. Dr. Tammy Berke, a psychologist who administered the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI), found no problems with Mr. Haley's concentration or memory. Dr. Berke thought the claimant was anxious, restless, and feeling down, but not clinically depressed.

The ALJ found that the claimant was not disabled. Using the factors set forth in Polaski v. Heckler, 739 F.2d 1320, 1322 (8th Cir. 1984) (subsequent history omitted), the ALJ found that the claimant's subjective complaints of pain were unsupported by the medical evidence. No doctor had declared the claimant disabled, and his treatment history was insignificant. Moreover, his current level of daily activity was not substantially different from his pattern of daily living before the 1989 injury. The ALJ determined that the claimant retained the residual functional capacity to engage in his past relevant work. On review, in 1993, the District Court remanded the case for further findings with respect to the claimant's past relevant work.

In January of 1995, Mr. Haley filed a new application for disability benefits, alleging he was disabled due to back pain and depression. The application was denied through the reconsideration stage, and he requested an administrative hearing. Subsequently, a hearing was held on both the 1990 and 1995 applications.

At the hearing in July of 1995, Mr. Haley testified that he had not worked since December of 1989. He stated that he had been receiving long-term disability-insurance benefits from his employer. Mr. Haley also claimed that his condition had degenerated since 1990. He complained of back spasms that occurred two to three times a week and lasted from 15 minutes to an hour. In order to gain relief from the spasms he had to stretch, jump, lie on the floor, or get in the whirlpool. He stated that on a scale of one to ten, the constant pain was between six and eight. The pain interfered with his ability to concentrate and to sleep. He suffered pain from bending, sitting, rising from sitting, standing, walking, lying, coughing, sneezing, twisting, lifting, and washing himself. Out of the 24 hours in a day he would lie down for 14, sit for six, and walk for two. He could sit or stand for a half an hour, but he could not walk for even 15 minutes before he would become dizzy, his heart would race, and he would have to sit down.

His medication included Cataflam, Naproxen, Soma, Ibuprofen, Buspar, and Talwin. Mr. Haley stated that the Ibuprofen caused him stomach problems. After taking the medication, Mr. Haley stated that the pain was a minimum of six and a maximum of ten. The record also indicates he underwent osteopathic manipulation one to two times a week, and received lidocaine trigger point injections. He also stated that he was admitted to the emergency room on at least three occasions in the last few years because he took too much medicine and hyperventilated.

The claimant testified that he no longer worked in the yard, and, although he still did some of the cooking, his wife did most of the housecleaning. However, in a Social Security disability supplemental interview outline completed in June of 1995, Mr. Haley stated that he washed dishes, changed sheets, vacuumed, completed home repairs, washed cars, prepared meals, and mowed the lawn. He also testified at the hearing that he drove his car, although he could not drive more than 30 miles without his legs going to sleep. He exercised every day and estimated that he could lift 30 pounds infrequently and 20 pounds frequently. He also claimed that his depression had worsened since 1990. He felt worthless, he did not eat regularly, and he had lost weight. He also claimed that five years ago he attempted suicide by cutting his wrists,⁴ and that he still entertained suicidal thoughts.

Witnesses on Mr. Haley's behalf included his wife and his parents. Mrs. Haley testified that Mr. Haley often cried for no apparent reason and that she saw the painful expression on his face when he attempted to pick up something. She also claimed that he was irritable, and that their sex life was not the same. Likewise, Mr. Haley's parents submitted a letter stating that he was in a great deal of pain. The letter also stated that Mr. Haley was depressed because he was unable do the things he used to enjoy doing. Although a vocational expert was present at the hearing, he did not testify.⁵

The following medical evidence was produced in support of Mr. Haley's claim. In 1993 Mr. Haley saw Dr. Roger Hockenberry, D.N., who diagnosed him with degenerative disc disease, spasticity, inflaming nerve pain, and an aggravating sacral nerve in his leg. Dr. Hockenberry reported that degenerative connective tissue damage resulted in back, shoulder, and arm pain that restricted the movement of Mr. Haley's arms and neck, diminished his strength, and highly limited long physical activity. Dr. Hockenberry determined that Mr. Haley was unable to perform manual labor, but he could perform light work.

Dr. Merl Cox, a chiropractor, determined that the claimant had tension in his shoulder muscles, and that he was sensitive to touch and motion testing throughout the spine. According to Dr. Cox, such findings were consistent with soft-tissue injury and Mr. Haley's complaints of pain. Dr. Cox also noted that Mr. Haley suffered from depression. In a letter dated January 13, 1995, Dr. Cox stated that Mr. Haley was permanently disabled. However, in follow-up correspondence dated February 27, 1995, he stated that his earlier determination of disability was made upon the basis of palpatory findings and Mr. Haley's subjective complaints and not on strength or endurance testing. Nonetheless, in a letter to Mr. Haley's long term disability insurance company dated May 23, 1995, Dr. Cox stated that in his professional opinion Mr. Haley's symptoms were more than just subjective, and that he believed Mr. Haley was disabled. X-rays taken in August of 1995, were unremarkable.

In August of 1995, at the behest of the Social Security Administration, Dr. Stephen Harris completed a psychological evaluation of Mr. Haley and...