Knight v. Chater, 94-3458

• Decision Date: 24 May 1995
• Docket Number: No. 94-3458,94-3458
• Parties: , Unempl.Ins.Rep. (CCH) P 14634B Billie J. KNIGHT, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. Shirley S. CHATER, Commissioner of Social Security, * Defendant-Appellee.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Seventh Circuit

Page 309

55 F.3d 309

48 Soc.Sec.Rep.Ser. 38, Unempl.Ins.Rep. (CCH) P 14634B

Billie J. KNIGHT, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. Shirley S. CHATER, Commissioner of Social Security,

^*

Defendant-Appellee.

No. 94-3458.

United States Court of Appeals, Seventh Circuit.

Argued April 25, 1995.

Decided May 24, 1995.

Steven K. Robison, Montgomery, Elsner & Pardieck, Seymour, IN (argued), for Billie J. Knight.

Jeffrey L. Hunter, Asst. U.S. Atty., Indianapolis, IN, Donna Morros Weinstein, Edward J. Kristof (argued), Department of Health and Human Services, Region V, Office of Gen. Counsel, Chicago, IL, for Donna E. Shalala.

Before FLAUM, RIPPLE and KANNE, Circuit Judges.

RIPPLE, Circuit Judge.

Billie J. Knight seeks further judicial review of the Social Security Administration's ("SSA") decision to deny her disability benefits. The SSA denied both her initial request and her request for reconsideration. An administrative law judge upheld that decision on the ground that Ms. Knight was able to perform sedentary work similar to the work she performed in her former occupation. The Appeals Council declined to review the ALJ's decision. The district court affirmed the agency decision on the ground that it was supported by substantial evidence. Ms. Knight now appeals the district court's decision. She submits that she is entitled to disability benefits because the decision that she can perform sedentary work is not supported by substantial evidence, and the record demonstrates that there is no work in the economy that she can perform.

I BACKGROUND

A. Facts

Ms. Knight was forty-six years old at the time of the administrative hearing. She had graduated high school, had completed a keypunch training course in 1976, and had attended truck driving school in 1982. She testified that, before 1990, she had held approximately twenty different jobs. Her past employment included operating a restaurant, feeding calves on a farm, working as a factory packer, supervising prison food services, driving a truck, and working as a clerk and keypunch operator for several businesses and offices. In April 1990, she claimed that muscle pain in her back and legs and a feeling of general weakness rendered her disabled.

The administrative record contains the following medical history. In November 1989, Ms. Knight complained of right thigh pain, fever, and pelvic discomfort. Dr. Gregory Sutton examined her at the Indiana University Medical Center and discovered a cystic mass on her anterior abdominal wall between two rectus muscles. The cyst was drained; no evidence of cancer was discovered. Ms. Knight underwent surgery again in July 1990 after complaining of further pain; multiple cysts were discovered in her ovaries, and a nodule was discovered in the sheath of the left rectus muscle. The cysts were benign, but the nodule proved to be metastatic adenocarcinoma. In response to a questionnaire by the Disability Determination Office, Dr. Richard Wiethoff, the surgeon, noted that, on the basis of an examination on August 1, 1990, Ms. Knight had healed well and did not report fatigue. He described her prognosis as guarded.

In August 1990, Ms. Knight also underwent several post-operative physical examinations by Dr. Charles Wolter, an internist and gastroenterologist. Dr. Wolter stated in response to the Disability Determination Office's In December 1990, cancer was discovered in Ms. Knight's bladder. Ms. Knight underwent surgery. There was no evidence of metastases, and Ms. Knight was discharged by Dr. Karl McAleese. Dr. McAleese indicated that, aside from the cancer which was removed, Ms. Knight was in "good general health," and recovering well. He later wrote that, although Ms. Knight was totally disabled from December 3, 1990 through February 15, 1991, he found no evidence of residual functional limitations.

                questionnaire that Ms. Knight was easily fatigued.  He also described her prognosis as guarded.  In a detailed letter to Dr. Wiethoff, dated August 9, 1990, Dr. Wolter concluded that Ms. Knight was "a well-developed, well nourished white female in no acute distress at the time of this [physical] exam."   R.12 at 134.  Because the extent of the cancer had not yet been determined, Dr. Wolter recommended further tests and monitoring
                

In June 1991, Ms. Knight underwent a colon scan that revealed a benign polyp. It was removed. Ms. Knight complained of painful spasms in her leg when she sat for too long a time or walked too much, and sought treatment from Dr. Harold Spencer. In July 1991, Dr. Spencer conducted tests which suggested that Ms. Knight had a degenerative disc disease in her lower back. He recommended rehabilitation exercises as treatment. On July 23, 1991, Dr. Spencer indicated, in his treatment notes, that Ms. Knight could walk on either heels or toes, had equal reflexes in deep tendon areas, and had no dermatographic loss of pinprick sensation. He recommended that she have a bone scan. On August 6, 1991, Dr. Spencer noted that Ms. Knight's bone scan was normal and recommended that she continue her back rehabilitation exercises. On August 20, 1991, Dr. Spencer completed a residual functional capacity assessment form which noted that, in an eight-hour day, Ms. Knight could sit for four hours, stand for two hours, and walk for two hours. In addition, she occasionally could lift up to twenty pounds and perform repetitive actions with both hands. The report also noted that her prognosis was poor.

B. Earlier Proceedings

Ms. Knight filed for disability benefits in August 1990. She claimed to have been disabled since April 19, 1990, around the time when she was first diagnosed with cancer. The SSA rejected her application. In August 1991, a hearing was held before an administrative law judge. Ms. Knight was represented by counsel and testified at the hearing. She testified that she did not believe that she could perform any work after April 1990. She recalled becoming worn out after using a garden tiller for fifteen minutes. She noted that she had reduced her housekeeping by fifty percent and had quit her hobby of quilting because she was unable to sit for fifteen and twenty-minute intervals at her sewing machine. She also complained of incontinence. The ALJ determined that, because Ms. Knight was able to perform sedentary work similar to her job as a keypunch operator or clerk, the agency correctly denied her benefits. The ALJ declined to rely upon Dr. Spencer's residual functional capacity report. He noted that Dr. Spencer's report was not consistent with his treatment notes. The ALJ further noted that Dr. Spencer's report was inconsistent with the greater weight of the evidence in the case, which, the ALJ concluded, indicated that Ms. Knight was capable of performing sedentary work. Ms. Knight sought review in the district court; the court upheld the ALJ's decision on the ground that it was supported by substantial evidence.

On appeal, Ms. Knight now submits that she is entitled to disability benefits because the decision that she can perform sedentary work is not supported by substantial evidence, and because the record demonstrates that there is no work in the economy that she can perform.

II DISCUSSION

Under the relevant statute, to be disabled means to be unable "to engage in any substantial gainful activity by reason of any medically determinable physical or mental impairment which can be expected to result in death or which has lasted or can be expected to last for a continuous period of not less than twelve months." 42 U.S.C. Sec. 1382c(a)(3)(A). A physical impairment is "an impairment that results from anatomical, physiological, or psychological abnormalities which are demonstrable by medically acceptable clinical and laboratory diagnostic techniques." 42 U.S.C. Sec. 1382c(a)(3)(C).

The Social Security regulations provide a five-step inquiry to determine whether a claimant is disabled:

(1) whether the claimant is currently employed;

(2) whether the claimant has a severe impairment;

(3) whether the claimant's impairment meets or equals one of the impairments listed by the SSA, see 20 C.F.R. Sec. 404, Subpt. P, App. 1;

(4) whether the claimant can perform her past work; and

(5) whether the claimant is capable of performing work in the national economy.

See 20 C.F.R. Sec. 404.1520; Herron v. Shalala, 19 F.3d 329, 333 n. 8 (7th Cir.1994); Binion v. Shalala, 13 F.3d 243, 247 (7th Cir.1994). If a claimant satisfies steps one, two, and three, she will automatically be found disabled. If a claimant satisfies steps one and two, but not three, then she must satisfy step four. Once step four is satisfied, the burden shifts to the SSA to establish that the claimant is capable of performing work in the national economy. Pope v. Shalala, 998 F.2d 473, 477 (7th Cir.1993); Lee v. Sullivan, 988 F.2d 789, 792 (7th Cir.1992). The ALJ determined that Ms. Knight was not currently employed and that, although she had a severe impairment, it was neither among, nor equivalent to, those listed by the SSA. The ALJ then determined, based on the physicians' reports and Ms. Knight's testimony, that Ms. Knight could still do the type of clerical work she had done in the past. Accordingly, he found her to be not disabled. See 20 C.F.R. Sec. 404.1520(e).

A. Substantial Evidence

Ms. Knight first argues that the ALJ's decision is not supported by substantial evidence. We must affirm the agency's decision if it is supported by substantial evidence. 42 U.S.C. Sec. 405(g); Herron, 19 F.3d at 333. Substantial evidence is "such relevant evidence as a reasonable mind might accept as adequate to support a conclusion." Richardson v. Perales, 402 U.S. 389, 401, 91 S.Ct. 1420, 1427, 28 L.Ed.2d 842 (1971); Green v. Shalala, 51 F.3d 96, 100-01 (7th Cir.1995). We shall not reevaluate the facts, reweigh the evidence, or substitute our own judgment for that of the SSA. Luna v. Shalala, 22 F.3d 687, 689 (7th Cir.1994); Herron, 19 F.3d at 333.

Sedentary work involves...