McCleary v. Flemming
| Decision Date | 31 March 1960 |
| Docket Number | Civ. No. P-2262. |
| Citation | 186 F. Supp. 607 |
| Parties | William J. McCLEARY, Petitioner, v. Arthur S. FLEMMING, Secretary of Department of Health, Education and Welfare, Respondent. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Southern District of Illinois |
Sinnett, Rink & Coryn, Rock Island, Ill., for plaintiff.
Harlington Wood, Jr., U. S. Atty., Springfield, Ill., for defendant.
This cause is before the court upon the petition of William J. McCleary for review of a final decision by the respondent denying petitioner's application for a disability determination and for disability benefits under the Social Security Act. 42 U.S.C.A. § 423.
Petitioner's application for a disability determination was filed November 19, 1956. In that application, petitioner claimed that he had become disabled and unable to work on December 5, 1955, because of ulcers and bladder trouble, stating that he could not work because he could not lift and he could not eat and retain food on his stomach. The application for benefits was denied. Petitioner requested a hearing before a referee of the Social Security Administration. A hearing was had before a referee on the 18th day of November, 1958. In his testimony before the referee, petitioner stated, pertinently: that he was 61 years of age; that he had been employed as a millwright by Republic Steel Company from 1938 to September 1956; that he had undergone surgery in December, 1955 for the removal of an ulcer, and that part of his stomach was removed at that time; that Dr. L. S. Helfrich was the doctor who had performed the operation and attended petitioner at that time; that he had undergone a bladder operation in January, 1956, at which time he was attended, and the operation was performed, by a Dr. Perkins of Moline; that he returned to work in June or July of 1956 and continued working for Republic Steel Company until sometime in August, 1956, when his employer discontinued its steel milling operations at Rock Island; that he had sufficient seniority at the steel mill to have continued working for about a year longer while the mill was being dismantled but that he was not physically able to do so; that, unless he were able to lie down for a period of time after eating, he could keep nothing on his stomach and would vomit; that he was unable to lift or do heavy work and that he could not find other employment because he could not find an employer who would let him lie down after eating; and that his normal weight prior to the operation was 150 to 155 pounds and that he had lost weight following the operation to a low point of 118 pounds.
A brother-in-law testified that frequently petitioner would vomit after eating. The one specific event to which his testimony related was to the effect that, on the day of the hearing, and shortly prior to the hearing, petitioner had eaten some barbecued spare ribs and had immediately vomited.
Petitioner presented to the referee the affidavits of three fellow employees which stated in substance, that petitioner had required assistance in the performance of his work when he returned to Republic after his operation. In addition, the affidavit of petitioner's foreman states that petitioner could have worked another year with Republic while the mill was being dismantled, "but because of his physical condition we had to replace him with another man." Such affidavits are the only evidence relating to the question whether the employer considered petitioner unable to work.
The balance of the evidence presented before the referee was reports and statements by various doctors. Among these was the report of Dr. Helfrich, dated November 29, 1956, which stated that he had performed an operation upon petitioner in December, 1955, for duodenal ulcer and a gastric resection; that petitioner was last seen by him in May, 1956 and at that time, released for work; and that petitioner could do no heavy manual labor, but was able to do average work. Also introduced before the referee was a letter from Dr. Helfrich reporting an examination of petitioner, made on November 13, 1958. The doctor noted that, when petitioner had been examined in 1956 following the operation, he weighed 124 pounds, and that on November 12, 1958, his weight had increased to 131 pounds. The doctor further reported that examination of the abdomen was apparently negative, with no distention and that petitioner's hemoglobin was checked and found to be in the lower limits of a normal range. The doctor noted further that he had seen petitioner in August of 1958 after petitioner had struck his thumb with a hammer, and at such time, petitioner had made no complaint about being unable to eat or retain food, or any complaint about a stomach condition. The doctor concluded that, under all of these circumstances, he could not give petitioner a statement that he was disabled, unless objective observation over a period of hospitalization should reveal the fact to be that petitioner was unable to retain food.
The report of Dr. Perkins states that he had performed a resection of a bladder tumor upon petitioner in January, 1956, with good results; that he saw petitioner at six-month intervals and had last examined him on September 13, 1956; that the condition described was static and that he had not advised petitioner that he could not work. Dr. Perkins concluded his report with the following remark: "This patient is under the care of Dr. L. S. Helfrich for...
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Chandler v. Celebrezze
...of plaintiff's claim of physical impairment to that made in several other cases wherein benefits were denied. McCleary v. Flemming, D.C.S.D.Ill., 186 F. Supp. 607; Dotson v. Flemming, D.C.W. D.Ky., 192 F.Supp. 621; Roberts v. Flemming, D.C.D.Ala., 186 F.Supp. Plaintiff is not aided by the e......