Locklear v. Mathews, Civ. A. No. N-76-358.

• Decision Date: 01 November 1976
• Docket Number: Civ. A. No. N-76-358.
• Citation: 424 F. Supp. 639
• Parties: Cora LOCKLEAR v. F. David MATHEWS, Secretary, Department of Health, Education & Welfare.
• Court: U.S. District Court — District of Maryland

424 F. Supp. 639

Cora LOCKLEAR v. F. David MATHEWS, Secretary, Department of Health, Education & Welfare.

Civ. A. No. N-76-358.

United States District Court, D. Maryland.

November 1, 1976.

COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED

Eileen O. Franch, Legal Aid Bureau, Inc., Baltimore, Md., for plaintiff.

Jervis S. Finney, U. S. Atty., and Virginia S. Draper, Asst. U. S. Atty., Baltimore, Md., for the District of Maryland, for defendant.

NORTHROP, Chief Judge.

Plaintiff, Cora Locklear, filed this action pursuant to Section 1631(c)(3) of the Social Security Act, 42 U.S.C. § 1383(c)(3), seeking review of the final decision of the Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare ("Secretary"), denying her claim for disability benefits under Title XVI of the Social Security Act.

Title XVI, 42 U.S.C. § 1381 et. seq., establishes a national program to provide supplemental security income (SSI) for the aged, blind and disabled. This program became effective on January 1, 1974 and replaced federally-aided state programs previously in effect. Since plaintiff had been receiving state disability benefits prior to December 1973, she was automatically converted to the SSI program in January 1974. On August 1, 1974, the Social Security Administration ("Administration") declared plaintiff ineligible for further SSI benefits. Plaintiff then filed a Request for Reconsideration, but the Administration again denied her claim. Upon plaintiff's request, the Administration granted her a hearing before an Administrative Law Judge.

Judge Louis J. Pucci (ALJ) presided at the hearing, at which plaintiff was represented by counsel. The ALJ heard the testimony of plaintiff and of a friend testifying in her behalf. In addition, he stipulated that other witnesses, who were not heard, would substantiate plaintiff's testimony (Tr. 81). In a decision dated August 26, 1975, the ALJ found that plaintiff was not entitled to SSI benefits. The Appeals Council of the Social Security Administration affirmed that decision on January 8, 1976, and it thereby became the final decision of the Secretary.¹

On March, 8, 1976, plaintiff filed this action, seeking reversal of the Secretary's decision or, in the alternative, remand to the Secretary. Defendant has moved for summary judgment.

In her petition to this Court for review of the Secretary's final decision, plaintiff contends that: "(a) there is no substantial evidence to support the administrative findings which are under review; (b) the Administrative Law Judge and the Appeals Council applied incorrect standards of law to this case; and (c) the evidence was not fully and fairly developed in the administrative process."

In her motion to remand, plaintiff further alleges that: (a) the ALJ applied an incorrect legal standard by relying solely on the Listing of Impairments in evaluating the severity of plaintiff's impairments; (b) he failed to consider plaintiff's subjective testimony; (c) he failed to consider the combined effect of plaintiff's impairments; (d) there is not substantial evidence to support the ALJ's evaluation of plaintiff's hypertension; (e) he erred in refusing to consider plaintiff's obesity on the ground that it is remediable; (f) the ALJ used an incorrect standard in evaluating the effect of plaintiff's pain; (g) the Secretary failed to meet his burden of showing that there is other work in the economy that plaintiff could perform after she met her burden of showing that she could not return to her former occupation; (h) the ALJ's misunderstanding of the applicable legal standard deprived plaintiff of a full and fair hearing; (i) his use of "preformulated paragraphs" in evaluating the evidence deprived plaintiff of a full and fair hearing; and finally (j) new evidence submitted by plaintiff provides good cause for the Court to remand this case to the Secretary.

Section 1631(c)(3) of the Social Security Act provides that final determinations of the Secretary concerning SSI benefits are "subject to judicial review as provided in 42 U.S.C. § 405(g) to the same extent as the Secretary's final determinations under 42 U.S.C. § 405 ...." Section 405(g) provides that the "findings of the Secretary as to any fact, if supported by substantial evidence, shall be conclusive . . .." Thus, judicial review of a decision by the Secretary is limited to determining whether the Secretary applied the correct legal standard in his fact-finding, Knox v. Finch, 427 F.2d 919, 920 (5th Cir. 1970), and whether the factual conclusions reached in applying these legal standards are supported by "substantial evidence" Blalock v. Richardson, 483 F.2d 773, 775 (4th Cir. 1972).

The correct legal standard for disability under Title XVI of the Social Security Act is:

... inability 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. § 1382c(a)(3)(A).

The claimant has the initial burden of proving such an impairment, Blalock v. Richardson, supra at 775 n. 3, but once the inability to perform his usual occupation is established, the burden shifts to the Secretary to show that the claimant can perform a specific job in the economy. Taylor v. Weinberger, 512 F.2d 664, 666 (4th Cir. 1975); Hernandez v. Weinberger, 493 F.2d 1120, 1122-23 (1st Cir. 1974). Here, the ALJ found specifically that the plaintiff "was not prevented from engaging in any substantial gainful activity for any continuous period which has lasted or could be expected to last at least twelve months ..." (Tr. 12). He applied the correct legal standard for disability under Title XVI, but this Court must also determine whether the findings are supported by substantial evidence.

The courts have defined substantial evidence as "more than a scintilla, but less than a preponderance." Thomas v. Celebreeze, 331 F.2d 541, 543 (4th Cir. 1964). The Supreme Court has characterized it as "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). It is the province of the ALJ to resolve conflicts in the evidence, and it is immaterial that the evidence does not preclude another conclusion. Thomas v. Celebreeze, supra at 543. Once the court finds substantial evidence supporting the Secretary's conclusion, its inquiry must end. Laws v. Celebreeze, 368 F.2d 640, 642 (4th Cir. 1966). At the same time, the court must perform its traditional function and conduct a "searching inquiry" of the entire record to determine if substantial evidence for the Secretary's decision does exist. Flack v. Cohen, 413 F.2d 278, 279-80 (4th Cir. 1969). The court may not speculate concerning the ALJ's findings. Smith v. Weinberger, 394 F.Supp. 1002, 1006 (D.Md. 1975). To permit proper judicial review, the ALJ must make explicit and detailed findings, even to the inclusion of findings of subordinate facts upon which ultimate facts are based. Id. In addition, the ALJ must inquire into disability claims "in a manner that will fully and fairly develop the facts." Sellars v. Secretary, 458 F.2d 984, 986 (8th Cir. 1972). In regard to a claimant's ability or inability to engage in any substantial gainful activity, he must consider: (1) objective medical facts (clinical findings); (2) medical opinions of examining or treating physicians based on those facts; (3) subjective evidence of pain and disability testified to by the claimant and corroborated by other evidence; and (4) the claimant's background, work history and present age. Hicks v. Gardner, 393 F.2d 299, 302 (4th Cir. 1968). If the claimant has more than one allegedly disabling ailment, the Secretary must consider not just the disabling effect of each ailment in isolation, but also the cumulative effect upon the claimant. See Combs v. Weinberger, 501 F.2d 1361, 1363 (4th Cir. 1974); Lackey v. Celebreeze, 349 F.2d 76, 79 (4th Cir. 1965). Moreover, the Secretary must explicitly consider the claimant's subjective symptoms. DePaepe v. Richardson, 464 F.2d 92, 99 (5th Cir. 1972). Although the Secretary may reject such subjective evidence, Reyes Robles v. Finch, 409 F.2d 84, 87 (1st Cir. 1969), the failure to do so leads to the conclusion that such evidence has not been considered. Smith v. Weinberger, supra at 1007.

Plaintiff is a 52 year old woman, who was born in North Carolina and currently resides in Baltimore, Maryland (Tr. 9, 40). She has only a third grade education and has worked only as a laborer and a waitress (Tr. 45-47). Plaintiff has not worked since 1960 (Tr. 127, 129). Her medical history reveals that she has been hospitalized only for childbirth (Tr. 98). Plaintiff, however, has suffered from a series of ailments that have not required hospitalization: a small sliding-type hiatus hernia, right and left ventricular hypertrophy, right atrial hypertrophy, left axis deviation, minimal osteoarthritic changes of the lower thoracic spine, uterine hemorrhaging and slight pulmonary congestion (Tr. 74, 101, 108, 135). She also suffers from hypertension. On March 28, 1975, her blood pressure reading was 140/95, although it has ranged from 122/68 to 240/110 during the period from July 1973 to March 1975 (Tr. 13-14). Plaintiff's most serious ailment, however, is obesity (Tr. 106). Although 5?6'' tall, she weighs approximately 285 lbs. (Tr. 106).

The medical opinions available in the record indicate that plaintiff's ailments are not severe, and that she does respond to medical treatment. On July 3, 1973, Dr. Theo T. Niznick examined plaintiff and filed a medical report under the Aid to Permanently and Totally Disabled Program. His diagnosis was severe hypertension and obesity (Tr. 130). Dr. Niznick stated that plaintiff could engage only in light part-time, sedentary work that involved no lifting, walking or...