Haynes v. Barnhart

• Decision Date: 26 July 2005
• Docket Number: No. 04-1211.,04-1211.
• Citation: 416 F.3d 621
• Parties: Richard HAYNES, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. Jo Anne B. BARNHART, Commissioner of Social Security, Defendant-Appellee.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Seventh Circuit

416 F.3d 621

Richard HAYNES, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. Jo Anne B. BARNHART, Commissioner of Social Security, Defendant-Appellee.

No. 04-1211.

United States Court of Appeals, Seventh Circuit.

Argued January 20, 2005.

Decided July 26, 2005.

Jason W. Whitley (argued), Novitzke, Gust & Sempf, Amery, WI, for Plaintiff-Appellant.

Jessie Wang-Grimm (argued), Office of the General Counsel, Chicago, IL, for Defendant-Appellee.

Before FLAUM, Chief Judge, and BAUER and KANNE, Circuit Judges.

KANNE, Circuit Judge.

Richard Haynes applied for social security disability benefits and supplemental security income. Following a hearing in 2001, an administrative law judge ("ALJ") found that Haynes was disabled from June 1, 1998, until June 1, 1999, but not thereafter, because Haynes was capable of performing a significant number of light-level jobs. The appeals council denied Haynes's request for review, and the district court affirmed the decision. On appeal, Haynes argues that the Medical Vocational Guidelines mandate a finding of disability outside the limited period determined by the ALJ. Haynes also argues that the ALJ improperly disregarded medical testimony that he claims mandated a finding of disability. We affirm.

I. Background

Richard Haynes was 53 years old at the time of his hearing before the ALJ. Haynes has a college degree in mathematics and science and has even earned some graduate school credits. Although Haynes served in the Air Force for about three years, the bulk of Haynes's work experience is in the field of carpentry. Since September 1995, Haynes has earned no more than $6000 doing carpentry on a part-time basis.

A. Haynes's Medical History

Since at least December 1996, when he smoked a pack and a half of cigarettes each day, Haynes has suffered from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. In March 1997, Haynes underwent pulmonary function testing, which indicated that he suffered from severe airway obstruction—a perhaps unsurprising result, given that Haynes by then had increased his cigarette consumption to about two packs a day. At any rate, Haynes received bronchodilator treatment for his condition, and this course of treatment was apparently successful. Despite his ongoing smoking habit, Haynes exhibited only "scattered wheezes" with good air exchange by December 1998. The record does not disclose further medical treatment for any pulmonary problems since then, despite the fact that Haynes continued to smoke more than a pack a day through January 2001.

This was not the end of Haynes's medical problems, however. On June 1, 1998, while working a construction job, Haynes suffered a fractured right heel—a "comminuted displaced right calcaneus fracture," in medical jargon. Haynes underwent surgical debridement, reduction, and splinting for this injury. After surgery, Haynes undertook a regimen of whirlpool and wound debridement treatment, to which he responded well. Medical treatment notes from several months after the injury indicated that Haynes's surgical site was healing extremely well, although Haynes indicated that he still suffered some "discomfort" when attempting to move about on his fractured heel.

In September 1998, x-rays indicated that Haynes's fracture was showing improvement, but there was significant soft tissue swelling of the affected area. On the advice of Dr. Daniel Lochmann, Haynes's treating orthopedic surgeon, Haynes underwent physical therapy. Haynes experienced some success with this therapy, which apparently reduced pain and brought great improvements to Haynes's range of motion and strength. In November 1998, however, Haynes reported continued difficulty with the range of motion of his right ankle. Dr. Lochmann instructed Haynes to stay the course with his physical therapy and to remain off work until June 1999, the one-year anniversary of his injury.

In January 1999, Haynes reported significant difficulty standing longer than 15 to 20 minutes at a time. In addition, Haynes reported some weakness and pain in his foot and had difficulty bearing weight on it. Dr. Lochmann examined Haynes and discovered that his right ankle had a limited range of motion. Dr. Lochmann expressed doubt that Haynes could return to his previous work and activity level, although Haynes indicated that several prescription drugs helped to reduce the severity of the pain to a more moderate and bearable level. Haynes sought no further medical followup or treatment for his heel pain after January 1999.

In a March 1999 report, Dr. Lochmann recorded that Haynes was unable to stand or walk longer than 30 minutes at a time, nor could he walk for more than three hours in an eight-hour workday. The surgeon also noted, however, that Haynes could perform work in which he occasionally lifted 20 pounds or frequently lifted 10 pounds. In addition, Dr. Lochmann determined that Haynes could do work that involved unrestricted sitting, occasional climbing and balancing, and no exposure to heights.

Over a year later, in September 2000, Dr. Nina Gilberg conducted a consultative examination of Haynes's heel and reported that the calcaneus fracture had healed for the most part. Haynes's right foot remained tender and swollen, but Haynes showed some range of motion and could bear his full weight on the foot, although he had a slight limp. Haynes could also rise from a chair and could get on and off an examination table without difficulty.

Dr. Gilberg concluded that Haynes could not perform any work requiring significant standing, walking, or carrying. Nevertheless, she concluded that Haynes could perform tasks while seated, if permitted to adjust his position while doing so. Dr. Gilberg also opined that Haynes could perform work requiring occasional lifting and carrying of between 10 and 20 pounds. In addition, Dr. Gilberg believed that Haynes could stand and walk a total of three to four hours a workday (for five to ten minutes at a time) and could sit for most of the workday with position changes every 20 to 30 minutes. She specified, however, that any such work should require no use of ladders, balancing, stooping, or crouching. Moreover, Haynes's work should entail no more than occasional kneeling or crawling, limited pushing and pulling, limited work at heights, and limited exposure to moving machinery (if balance is involved), temperature extremes, or vibration.

Unfortunately, Haynes's medical problems were not confined to the physical ailments described above. As documented in the record, Haynes also has a long history of chronic alcohol abuse. He has been arrested repeatedly for driving while intoxicated, and has been fired or otherwise disciplined for problems arising from his alcohol dependence. Haynes has been committed to detoxification programs on multiple occasions. Although he has benefitted from periods of remission, Haynes has engaged in repeated episodes of binge drinking on and off through late 2000. Over the years, Haynes was prescribed various medications for his alcohol dependency, but he only took these medications erratically.

Haynes has also been diagnosed with a mild form of depression and bipolar disorder. He received ongoing therapy and took Prozac and other prescription drugs for these disorders. As of December 1998, Haynes's depression was in marked remission, and his bipolar disorder was in full remission as of October 1999.

B. Hearing and Decision

The above-described maladies gave rise to a series of applications, beginning in 1995, that Haynes filed seeking social security disability benefits and supplemental security income. Most of these applications and resulting administrative appeals were denied in full, and their disposition is not relevant to this case. The appeal before us relates specifically to a partially favorable decision issued by an ALJ on March 29, 2001.

The hearing that preceded the ALJ's decision took place in January 2001. At this hearing, Haynes testified that he still suffered pain in his heel and wore athletic shoes rather than the prescribed orthopedic boots. Haynes also testified about his bipolar disorder and depression, and the medication and therapy he received. He stated that he still smoked (about a pack and a half per day) and suffered from obstructive pulmonary disease, for which he took inhalant medications. Haynes indicated his belief that his physical and mental ailments precluded him from working a full day.

Regarding his limitations, Haynes stated that he could lift or carry up to 10 pounds, and could lift (but not carry) up to 20 pounds. Haynes also indicated that he could walk three to four hours a day, with breaks after five to ten minutes. He claimed that in a work setting, he needed breaks every 15 minutes.

Haynes testified that he lived with his girlfriend. His daily activities entailed helping out around the house—washing dishes, dusting, and making his bed, for example. Haynes maintained his driver's license and drove on occasion. In addition, he continued to do small carpentry jobs and even participated in a vocational rehabilitation program that would enable him to run a small woodworking business for 20 hours a week.

In addition to Haynes's testimony concerning the range of his physical activities, the record included several documents in which Haynes provided additional detail regarding his daily activities. For example, Haynes filed a disability report with the Social Security Administration in January 1996. In that report, Haynes indicated that he had been fired six times in the previous three years due to his chronic alcohol abuse. He also indicated that, at the time, he carried out a number of daily activities, including washing dishes, cooking, cleaning, shopping for groceries, driving, doing laundry, and visiting with family members. In addition, Haynes fished (sometimes twice a day), hunted, and frequented casinos.

Similarly, in January 1998, Haynes filed a completed questionnaire with the Wisconsin Department of...