Montijo v. Secretary of Health and Human Services

• Decision Date: 07 November 1983
• Docket Number: No. 82-5759,82-5759
• Citation: 729 F.2d 599
• Parties: , Unempl.Ins.Rep. CCH 15,218 Jesus MONTIJO, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. SECRETARY OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, Defendant-Appellee.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Ninth Circuit

Page 599

729 F.2d 599

4 Soc.Sec.Rep.Ser. 268, Unempl.Ins.Rep. CCH 15,218

Jesus MONTIJO, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. SECRETARY OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, Defendant-Appellee.

No. 82-5759.

United States Court of Appeals Ninth Circuit.

Submitted Nov. 7, 1983. ^*

Decided March 26, 1984.

F. James Bear, National City, Cal., for plaintiff-appellant.

Warren P. Reese, Asst. U.S. Atty., San Diego, Cal., for defendant-appellee.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Southern District of California.

Before BROWNING, Chief Judge, FLETCHER and NORRIS, Circuit Judges.

PER CURIAM:

Montijo appeals the Secretary's decision that he is not disabled within the meaning of sections 223(d)(1)(A) and 1614(a)(3)(A) of the Social Security Act, 42 U.S.C. Secs. 423(d)(1)(A), 1382c(a)(3)(A), and therefore not entitled to disability benefits or Supplemental Security Income (SSI) under the Act.

I

Montijo injured his back and neck when thrown from a railroad car in May 1976. He has not worked since.

Reports from four physicians disclosed only minor physical injuries. None of these doctors concluded that a physical impairment had disabled Montijo for longer than twelve months. After his initial application for disability benefits, Montijo became severely ill and was hospitalized in September 1979 for what was later diagnosed as Addison's disease--a hormonal imbalance related to stress that causes weakness, low blood pressure, anemia, and darkening of the skin. The attending physician's report concluded, however, that the disease could be controlled with medication and would not disable Montijo.

A review of the medical opinion concerning psychological impairment presents a different picture. A psychologist examined Montijo in September 1978 and diagnosed a psychophysiological reaction to an underlying organic pathology. The psychologist ventured no opinion about the claimant's ability to work.

In September 1979 Dr. Griswold, a psychiatrist, concluded that Montijo was totally disabled by a psychophysiologic musculoskeletal disorder resulting from the May 1976 accident. Dr. Griswold saw the claimant nearly a year later and noted some improvement but adhered to his earlier opinion that Montijo was totally disabled by the neurotic disorder. Finally, in February 1981, eighteen months after his first examination, Dr. Griswold repeated his diagnosis and his conclusion that Montijo was totally disabled.

This diagnosis was confirmed to some degree by another psychiatrist, Dr. Bayardo, who first saw claimant in July 1980. He concluded that claimant either suffered from a neurosis or that his symptoms could be attributed to Addison's disease and related side effects. He thought claimant might be able to perform light duties. Dr Bayardo reached substantially similar conclusions after an examination in February 1981, but added specifically in this report, in contrast to his previous opinion, that Montijo had been unable to work since May 1976.

The administrative law judge determined, on the basis of these medical reports and testimony from the claimant at a hearing, that claimant suffered from no severe mental or physical impairment and was therefore not entitled to disability benefits. This finding was approved by the Appeals Council and became the final decision of the Secretary. On appeal of this decision, the district court concluded the Secretary's determination was supported by substantial evidence.

II

We agree with the district court that substantial evidence supports the administrative law judge's finding that Montijo has not suffered from a severe physical impairment for the minimum statutory twelve-month period. Some of the medical reports might support a finding of severe impairment for shorter periods. There is no evidence, however, that the May 1976 accident or the Addisonian crisis caused a severe physical impairment lasting for longer than twelve months. The subjective complaints of the claimant alone do not overcome his statutory burden. See Sorenson v. Weinberger, 514 F.2d 1112, 1118 (9th Cir.1975); 20 C.F.R. Sec. 404.1508 (1983).

A different conclusion is required as to the claimant's mental impairment. Montijo tendered evidence from a psychologist who, on the basis of extensive testing in September 1978, concluded the claimant exhibited a psychophysiological reaction. A psychiatrist reached a similar conclusion one year later in September 1979 and added that, in his opinion, the claimant was totally disabled by virtue of this neurotic disorder. The disorder diagnosed is one of those listed in the Secretary's regulations as an impairment. See 20 C.F.R. Part 404, SubPart P, Appendix 1, 12.00 B.3.a. (1983). The third expert in psychological impairment, also a psychiatrist, agreed claimant had been unable to work from the time of the accident although he could not determine whether the disability resulted from a neurotic disorder or Addison's disease. Thus, the medical evidence regarding Montijo's mental condition shows the existence of a mental impairment existing for at least one year, and perhaps longer, after the original accident, and two of the doctors expressed the opinion that the impairment was disabling. There was no contrary medical evidence.

The administrative law judge is not bound by the uncontroverted opinions of the claimant's physicians on the ultimate issue of disability, 20 C.F.R. Sec. 404.1527 (1983), but he cannot reject them without presenting clear and convincing reasons for doing so. See Rhodes v. Schweiker, 660 F.2d 722, 723 (9th Cir.1981); Day v. Weinberger, 522 F.2d 1154, 1156 (9th Cir.1975).

In Day, 522 F.2d at 1156-57, this court reversed a denial of benefits in the face of uncontroverted reports from the claimant's five physicians that she was injured and...