Maziarz v. Secretary of Health & Human Services

• Decision Date: 31 August 1987
• Docket Number: No. 86-1967,86-1967
• Citation: 837 F.2d 240
• Parties: , Unempl.Ins.Rep. CCH 17,826 Jerome MAZIARZ, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. SECRETARY OF HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES, Defendant-Appellee.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Sixth Circuit

Page 240

837 F.2d 240

20 Soc.Sec.Rep.Ser. 277, Unempl.Ins.Rep. CCH 17,826

Jerome MAZIARZ, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. SECRETARY OF HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES, Defendant-Appellee.

No. 86-1967.

United States Court of Appeals Sixth Circuit.

Argued Aug. 3, 1987.

Decided Aug. 31, 1987.

Debra A. Freid, Bernard M. Freid & Assoc., P.C., Saginaw, Mich., Mathew F. Taylor (argued), for plaintiff-appellant.

Michael Hluchaniuk, Asst. U.S. Atty., Bay City, Mich., Janet L. Parker, Asst. U.S. Atty., Anne Kenny-Kleiman (argued), U.S. Dept. of H. & H.S., Chicago, Ill., for defendant-appellee.

Before MERRITT, Circuit Judge, and EDWARDS and CONTIE, Senior Circuit Judges.

CONTIE, Senior Circuit Judge.

Claimant Jerome Maziarz appeals from a district court order affirming the Secretary's determination that he was not disabled and, therefore, not entitled to Disability Insurance Benefits. For the following reasons, we affirm the district court's order.

I.

Maziarz filed his application for Disability Insurance Benefits on January 4, 1985, alleging a disability onset date of July 3, 1984. The Secretary denied claimant's application both initially and upon reconsideration. Claimant then requested a hearing before an Administrative Law Judge (ALJ), which was held on October 4, 1985.

Maziarz testified at the hearing that he was born on February 23, 1936, and was forty-nine years old. He had completed the twelfth grade, and he had been employed by Mechanical Insulation Services as an asbestos worker from 1954 through July 3, 1984. Claimant stated that he left his employment because of severe chest pain.

Claimant's job involved insulating hot and cold water pipes, steam pipes, and air conditioning systems. His work required lifting roles of blanket insulation which weighed approximately 120 pounds with no assistance. Maziarz also assumed supervisory responsibilities similar to a foreman's for some time. The record does not indicate the length of time since claimant last acted as a supervisor. When asked if he could perform his previous job, claimant replied that he did not think he could because the job would entail standing up, putting up with stress, and the heavy lifting he had done previously.

Upon reviewing the relevant medical evidence and claimant's testimony, the ALJ rendered his decision on October 23, 1985, concluding that Maziarz was not entitled to disability benefits. Initially, the ALJ determined that claimant had not engaged in substantial gainful activity since July 3, 1984. The ALJ found that claimant suffered from the severe impairment of coronary artery angioplasty and angina pectoris, but that he did not have an impairment or combination of impairments listed in or medically equal to one listed in Appendix 1. 20 C.F.R. pt. 404, subpt. P., app. 1. Further, the ALJ found that claimant was unable to perform his past relevant work as an asbestos worker. The ALJ determined, however, that claimant's complaints of functional limitation were out of proportion to the objective clinical evidence and were not fully credible. For example, the ALJ noted that although claimant complained that his cervical condition restricted his driving, he was able to drive his four wheel honda through the woods. In order to determine whether the claimant could perform other work, the ALJ noted that claimant was forty-nine years old, which meets the definition of a younger individual; that claimant had a high school education; that claimant had the residual functional capacity to perform the physical exertion requirements of work except for heavy lifting or work involving stress; that claimant could perform the limited range of light and sedentary work identified by the vocational expert; and that in light of claimant's age, education and residual functional capacity, the issue of transferability of work skills was not material. Using the medical-vocational guidelines as a framework, the ALJ concluded that claimant was not under a disability.

Maziarz requested review of the ALJ's decision by the Appeals Council, but on January 14, 1986, the Appeals Council found no basis for review. Thus, the ALJ's decision became the final decision of the Secretary.

Maziarz then filed the present action for judicial review with the district court pursuant to 42 U.S.C. Sec. 405(g). The district court referred the case to a magistrate. Upon consideration of claimant's motion for summary judgment, the magistrate issued a report and recommendation on June 24, 1986, recommending that claimant's motion be granted, and that the case be remanded for a computation of benefits to which he was entitled. The magistrate's recommendation was based on a finding that substantial evidence did not exist on the record to support the finding that claimant retained the residual capacity for light work. The magistrate, however, did not address the question of whether claimant retained the capacity to perform a limited range of sedentary work. The Secretary filed timely objections to the magistrate's report and recommendation.

On August 27, 1986, the district court rejected the magistrate's report and recommendation, concluding that substantial evidence supported the Secretary's finding that claimant could perform sedentary work. Claimant thereafter brought this timely appeal.

II.

This court has jurisdiction on appeal to review the Secretary's decision pursuant to 42 U.S.C. Sec. 405(g) which specifies that the Secretary's factual findings are conclusive if supported by substantial evidence. " 'Substantial evidence' means 'more than a scintilla. It means such relevant evidence as a reasonable mind might accept as adequate to support a conclusion.' " Kirk v. Secretary of Health & Human Servs., 667 F.2d 524, 535 (6th Cir.1981) (quoting Richardson v. Perales, 402 U.S. 389, 401, 91 S.Ct. 1420, 1427, 28 L.Ed.2d 842 (1971)), cert. denied, 461 U.S. 957, 103 S.Ct. 2428, 77 L.Ed.2d 1315 (1983). In determining this question, we must examine the evidence in the record "taken as a whole." Allen v. Califano, 613 F.2d 139, 145 (6th Cir.1980), and " 'must take into account whatever in the record fairly detracts from its weight.' " Beavers v. Secretary of Health, Educ. & Welfare, 577 F.2d 383, 387 (6th Cir.1978) (quoting Universal Camera Corp. v. NLRB, 340 U.S. 474, 488, 71 S.Ct. 456, 464, 95 L.Ed. 456 (1951)). If it is supported by substantial evidence, the Secretary's determination must stand regardless of whether the reviewing court would resolve the issues of fact in dispute differently. Kinsella v. Schweiker, 708 F.2d 1058, 1059 (6th Cir.1983) (per curiam).

The claimant has the ultimate burden to establish an entitlement to benefits by proving the existence of a disability as defined in 42 U.S.C. Sec. 423(d)(1)(A). If the claimant is working, benefits are automatically denied. If a claimant is not found to have an impairment which significantly limits his ability to work (a severe impairment), then he is not disabled. Since the ALJ found that Maziarz had not worked since 1984 and that he suffered from a severe impairment, further inquiry was necessary. If a claimant is not working and has a severe impairment, it must be determined whether he or she suffers from one of the "listed" impairments. See 20 C.F.R. Sec. 404.1525(a) and 20 C.F.R. pt. 404, subpt. P, app. 1. If so, benefits are owing without further inquiry. In the instant case, the ALJ found that Maziarz did not suffer from one of the listed impairments. In such a case, assuming the individual had previously worked, the Secretary must next decide whether the claimant can return to the job he or she previously held. By showing "a medical basis for an impairment that prevents him from engaging in his particular occupation," Hephner v. Mathews, 574 F.2d 359, 361 (6th Cir.1978), the claimant establishes a prima facie case of disability. In the instant case, the ALJ found that Maziarz was not capable of returning to his particular occupation.

At this step in the analysis, it becomes the Secretary's burden to establish the claimant's ability to work. Allen, 613 F.2d at 145. The Secretary must prove that, taking into consideration present job qualifications such as age, experience, education and physical capacity, and the existence of jobs to match those qualifications, a claimant retains the capacity to perform a different kind of job. 42 U.S.C. Sec. 423(d)(2)(A); 20 C.F.R. Sec. 404.1520(f)(1); Heckler v. Campbell, 461 U.S. 458, 460, 103 S.Ct. 1952, 1954, 76 L.Ed.2d 66 (1983). The Secretary's burden can, on occasion, be satisfied by relying on the medical-vocational guidelines, otherwise known as the "grid." See 20 C.F.R. pt. 404, subpt. P, app. 2. If the characteristics of the claimant do not identically match the description in the grid, however, the grid is used only as a framework or a guide to the disability determination. Kirk, 667 F.2d at 528. In the instant case, the ALJ found that claimant's characteristics did not identically match the description in the grid since Maziarz retained the residual functional capacity to perform only a limited range of sedentary work. Accordingly, the ALJ used the grid only as a guide to the disability determinations.

A.

Initially, Maziarz argues that appellate review is precluded because the district court failed to enunciate clearly its findings and the bases for its conclusion. We reject this argument. As noted above, this court's function is limited to a determination of whether the Secretary's factual findings are supported by substantial evidence on the record as a whole. In light of the nature and scope of our review, we find that the district court's failure to set forth specific findings does not hinder our ability to review the merits of this case nor does it require a remand.

Maziarz also asserts that the district court erred as a matter of law in failing to apply the grid properly. More particularly, he maintains that the district court should have applied the grid as of ...