Hall v. Chater, 96-2462

Citation109 F.3d 1255
Decision Date24 March 1997
Docket NumberNo. 96-2462,96-2462
PartiesDianna L. HALL, Appellant, v. Shirley S. CHATER, Commissioner of the Social Security Administration, Appellee.
CourtUnited States Courts of Appeals. United States Court of Appeals (8th Circuit)

Page 1255

109 F.3d 1255
53 Soc.Sec.Rep.Ser. 21
Dianna L. HALL, Appellant,
v.
Shirley S. CHATER, Commissioner of the Social Security
Administration, Appellee.
No. 96-2462.
United States Court of Appeals,
Eighth Circuit.
Submitted Dec. 10, 1996.
Decided March 24, 1997.

Page 1257

E. Gregory Wallace, Buies Creek, NC, argued for appellant (Anthony W. Bartels, on the brief).

Sherry A. Elrod, Assistant Regional Counsel, Dallas, Texas, argued for appellee (Paula Casey, Joseph B. Liken, and Tina M. Waddell, on the brief).

Before WOLLMAN, BRIGHT, and MURPHY, Circuit Judges.

WOLLMAN, Circuit Judge.

Dianna Hall appeals the district court's 1 order affirming the Commissioner's denial of her application for supplemental security income (SSI) benefits. We affirm.

I.

Hall, who was thirty-seven years old when she filed for benefits, is a high school graduate and has completed college coursework in nursing. She has been employed as a parts inspector and sorter, maid, machine operator, and product packer. On July 3, 1991, approximately one month before she filed for benefits, Hall fell eleven feet from a ladder, fracturing her back and left wrist. Hall filed for benefits alleging disability due to her broken wrist and back pain arising from her fall.

In a letter to the Social Security Administration dated January 29, 1992, an orthopedic surgeon who treated Hall after her fall reported that Hall had undergone three surgeries and a bone graft on her left wrist, that the severity of her wrist injuries resulted in reduced motion and weakness, and that he detected what he believed was post-traumatic degenerative arthritis. He stated that the prognosis for her wrist was dismal and predicted that she might experience progressive pain. In regard to Hall's back, he reported that she was treated with a brace and persisted with pain and a progressive kyphotic deformity. He also noted advising Hall that losing weight would be the best treatment for her back.

A physician who treated Hall for her back problems at the University of Arkansas Department of Neurosurgery stated in a clinic note dated February 13, 1992, that Hall was doing well with a brace but experienced persistent back pain, and that films of her lumbar spine showed a progression of collapse of the L1 vertebra. The doctor stated that Hall had point tenderness over the lumbar spine. The only medication noted on Hall's outpatient record was Ibuprofen. Although this physician initially thought Hall would require back surgery, he stated on March 12, 1992, that her condition had stabilized and surgery was not anticipated.

A hearing was held before an administrative law judge (ALJ) on October 6, 1992. Hall demonstrated that she could barely bend her left wrist or the fingers on her left hand. Hall testified that she still wears a back brace every day, and has a heavier one for "the days it gets really bad." Her daughter has to help her fasten buttons and zippers when she gets dressed and assist her in bathing. Hall performs light housework and cooking, but hires someone to do heavy cleaning twice a month and needs help lifting heavy pots. Hall claimed that she has to lie down approximately once per hour during the day to alleviate her back pain, but reported that a heating pad and Ibuprofen would also alleviate that pain.

The ALJ called a vocational expert (VE) at the hearing. The hypothetical the ALJ posed to the VE involved a worker who had difficulty with prolonged sitting and standing and needed to alternate between these positions hourly, was severely limited in the use of her left hand but could use it as a helper hand, and could lift up to 30 or 40 pounds occasionally and 20 pounds frequently with her good arm. The VE opined that this worker could not perform her past relevant work but retained the residual functional capacity

Page 1258

to perform unskilled sedentary work, including clerk, receptionist, and cashier jobs.

The ALJ found that although Hall was severely impaired, she did not meet the requirements of a listed impairment. Relying on the VE's testimony, the ALJ concluded that Hall's impairments precluded her from performing her past relevant work but that she could perform other jobs available in significant numbers. The Appeals Council denied Hall's request for review, and the district court granted the Commissioner's motion for summary judgment. On appeal, Hall argues that the ALJ erred in discounting her subjective complaints of pain and in concluding that a significant number of jobs exist that she could perform.

II.

Our review is limited to determining whether the Commissioner's decision is supported by substantial evidence on the record as a whole; that is, evidence sufficient to allow a reasonable mind to find it adequate to support the Commissioner's conclusion. See Johnson v. Chater, 87 F.3d 1015, 1017 (8th Cir.1996). We will not reverse the Commissioner's decision simply because there is evidence supporting a different result. See id. If the evidence supports two inconsistent conclusions, one of which is that reached by the Commissioner's conclusion, we must affirm the decision. See Roe v. Chater, 92 F.3d 672, 675 (8th Cir.1996).

Hall argues that the ALJ erred in discounting her complaints that she experiences disabling pain and needs to lie down frequently during the day. She contends that the ALJ would have found her unemployable, had he properly credited her testimony and the testimony of her witnesses.

The ALJ made express credibility findings and stated his reasons for those findings in accord with Polaski v. Heckler, 739 F.2d 1320, 1322 (8th Cir.1984). He carefully reviewed the medical evidence and found that it supported Hall's assertion that she experienced pain but did not support the degree of functional limitation and pain she alleged. He also noted that Hall sought no medical treatment for her wrist after January of 1992, no treatment for her back other than her brace, and no physical therapy for either her wrist or back. In addition, Hall did not show that she had attempted to lose weight to improve her condition as her orthopedic surgeon had recommended. The ALJ also found that Hall's description of her daily activities, including cooking, light housework, grocery shopping, and driving an automobile, contradicted her assertions that she could walk or stand only for a short amount of time and had to lie down once every hour.

The ALJ additionally noted that Hall did not take strong pain medication,...

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