Jones v. Bowen, 86-7124

• Decision Date: 08 December 1986
• Docket Number: No. 86-7124,86-7124
• Citation: 810 F.2d 1001
• Parties: , Unempl.Ins.Rep. CCH 17,200 John JONES, Jr., Plaintiff-Appellant, v. Otis R. BOWEN, Secretary of Health and Human Services, Defendant-Appellee. Non-Argument Calendar.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Eleventh Circuit

Page 1001

810 F.2d 1001

16 Soc.Sec.Rep.Ser. 239, Unempl.Ins.Rep. CCH 17,200

John JONES, Jr., Plaintiff-Appellant, v. Otis R. BOWEN, Secretary of Health and Human Services Defendant-Appellee.

No. 86-7124

Non-Argument Calendar.

United States Court of Appeals Eleventh Circuit.

Dec. 8, 1986.

Rehearing and Rehearing En Banc Denied Feb. 23, 1987.

^*

John L. Cole, Birmingham, Ala., for plaintiff-appellant.

Frank W. Donaldson, U.S. Atty., Jenny L. Smith, Asst. U.S. Atty., Birmingham, Ala., for defendant-appellee.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern District of Alabama.

Before TJOFLAT, HATCHETT and CLARK, Circuit Judges.

PER CURIAM:

John Jones, Jr. appeals from the judgment of the district court affirming the Secretary's denial of his claim for disability insurance benefits. Because the Secretary employed correct legal standards and the evidence is sufficient to support the Secretary's determination, we affirm.

BACKGROUND

On January 27, 1982, John Jones, Jr. filed an application for disability insurance benefits. He alleged that he had been disabled since December 12, 1981, due to back problems, gout, and high blood pressure. His earnings record established that he had disability insurance status through June 30, 1983. Jones's application was denied initially and upon reconsideration.

Following these denials, Jones received a hearing before an administrative law judge (ALJ). Jones, 54-years-old at the time of the hearing, testified that he had a 10th grade education and experience as a sand mixer, automobile mechanic, and security guard. He testified that he had to leave his job as a security guard due to severe back pain, hurting arms when he lifted over twenty pounds, blurred vision, and swelling of his toe and knee during gout flare-ups. As of November 30, 1983, Jones's daily activities consisted of lying around the house, house cleaning, and repairing his car.

The medical evidence included clinic notes from the Birmingham, Alabama, Veterans Administration Medical Center from 1980 to 1982, which indicated that Jones's In February, 1982, Dr. Christopher W. Old examined Jones and noted, among other things, an elevated blood pressure rate, a normal range of motion in the back and extremities, pain upon moving the left knee and lumbosacral spine, and chest pain which had to be evaluated further.

primary problems were hypertension and obesity. Jones's hypertension was fairly well controlled, although he suffered slight side effects from his medication. His weight hovered around 290 pounds even though he was put on a strict diet.

In April, 1982, Dr. Richard L. Cox, Jr. put Jones through a graded exercise test. The electrocardiogram showed premature ventricular contractions in an inferolateral ischemia pattern. Jones tested positive for ischemia after exercise treadmill testing.

In November, 1982, Jones was admitted to the Brookwood Medical Center in Homewood, Alabama, for "newly discovered" diabetes mellitus. This condition was brought under control with insulin injections.

In January, 1983, Dr. Bry H. Coburn examined Jones for visual disability and diagnosed a moderate left eye cataract, which he attributed to diabetes mellitus. Dr. Coburn predicted that the condition would worsen but recommended "glasses only at this time."

The ALJ found that Jones suffered from ischemic heart disease, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, gout, lower back pain, and a left eye cataract. A vocational expert testified that a man with impairments similar to Jones's could return to his prior work as a security guard. Accordingly, the ALJ found that Jones was not disabled within the meaning of the Act prior to the expiration of his insured status in June, 1983.

After the Appeals Council denied Jones's request for review, he brought this action in district court. The district court remanded the case to the Secretary because the ALJ failed to determine whether Jones's ischemia met or equalled the criteria for disabling impairments listed in appendix I of part 404 of the regulations.

At the supplemental hearing, Jones reiterated his prior testimony. He also testified that when he worked as a security guard his medication made him fall asleep, and that his wife had to go to work with him to keep him awake. He also testified that he had lost twenty pounds since the last hearing.

The medical evidence adduced for this hearing included a report of an examination by a cardiologist, Dr. Harold P. Settle. Dr. Settle's impressions included controlled hypertension, diabetes mellitus, a chest pain syndrome suggesting ischemic heart disease and angina pectoris, obesity, and lower back pain.

In May, 1984, Dr. Bert Wiesel reviewed the evidence and concluded that Jones's ischemic heart disease was his primary impairment and that his hypertension and diabetes mellitus were under control. Dr. Wiesel concluded that no objective findings of lumbar spine disease substantiated Jones's complaints of lower back pain, and Jones's impairments did not meet or equal the listings.

Dr. Terry G. Petry, Jones's treating physician since 1983, opined that he was disabled due to angina and high blood pressure.

In January, 1985, Dr. Irwin Lewis conducted a neurological examination and reported that he found little to suggest a significant organic neurological disease, although he considered occult hypothyroidism a possibility. Dr. Lewis completed a physical capacities evaluation and stated that Jones could sit for four hours, stand for one hour, walk around for an hour at a time, and lift up to twenty pounds. He concluded that Jones did not have to be restricted from working at unprotected heights, but should be restricted from exposure to marked changes in temperature, humidity, dust, fumes, and gasses. He also concluded that Jones should not be around moving machinery.

The ALJ found that although Jones had severe impairments secondary to ischemic heart disease, obesity, and back pain, he did not have an impairment prior to June

30, 1983, listed in, or equal in severity to an impairment in the listings. The ALJ then found that prior to June 30, 1983, Jones had the residual functional capacity for a full range of sedentary work and that he could perform his past relevant work as a gate security guard. Thus, the ALJ found that Jones was not disabled or entitled to disability insurance benefits. The Appeals Council adopted the ALJ's report, with modifications. The district court granted Jones's motion to reopen the record, but ultimately found that the Secretary's decision was supported by substantial evidence.

DISCUSSION

On appeal, Jones contends: (1) that the ALJ failed to sufficiently explain her credibility determination; (2) that the ALJ's determination that he could perform his past relevant work as a security guard is not supported by substantial evidence; (3) that the ALJ failed to accord proper weight to the opinion of his treating physician; and (4) that the ALJ failed to consider whether the combination of his impairments rendered him disabled within the meaning of the Act. We address each contention separately.

1. Whether the Secretary made an improper credibility determination?

The ALJ determined that: "The claimant's testimony concerning his sleepiness, chest pain, loss of vision, back pain and swelling in his legs, knees and feet and their effect on his ability to work prior to June, 1983, was not credible to the extent alleged." This credibility determination was flawed, in Jones's view, because it did not meet the requirement of Viehman v. Schweiker, 679 F.2d 223, 228 (11th Cir.1982) and because the medical evidence provided a basis for his complaint. The Secretary points out that the Appeals Council modified the ALJ's credibility determination and articulated specific reasons for rejecting Jones's testimony.

As Jones points out, Viehman v. Schweiker requires the fact finder to articulate reasons for questioning a claimant's credibility when his testimony is critical. Viehman at 228. Moreover, in MacGregor v. Bowen, 786 F.2d 1050, 1054 (11th Cir.1986), we stated that the Secretary must give specific reasons for discrediting testimony regarding subjective pain which is supported by clinical evidence of a condition that can reasonably be expected to produce the symptoms of which the claimant complains. MacGregor at 1054.

In this case, the ALJ's statement that Jones's testimony concerning the...