Rice v. Colvin
| Decision Date | 03 February 2015 |
| Docket Number | No. 4:13CV2457 TIA,4:13CV2457 TIA |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Eastern District of Missouri |
| Parties | INDIANA S. RICE, Plaintiff, v. CAROLYN W. COLVIN, Commissioner of Social Security, Defendant. |
This cause is on appeal from an adverse ruling of the Social Security Administration. The suit involves Applications for Disability Insurance Benefits under Title II of the Social Security Act and for Supplemental Security Income under Title XVI of the Act. Claimant has filed a Brief in Support of his Complaint, and the Commissioner has filed a Brief in Support of her Answer. The parties consented to the jurisdiction of the undersigned pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 636(c).
On July 11, 2011, Claimant Indiana S. Rice filed Applications for Disability Insurance Benefits under Title II of the Act, 42 U.S.C. §§ 401 et. seq. (Tr. 156-71) and for Supplemental Security Income payments pursuant to Title XVI of the Social Security Act, 42 U.S.C. §§ 1381, et. seq. (Tr. 147-55).1 Claimant states that his disability began on June 30, 2011,2 as a result ofdepression and anxiety. (Tr. 79, 190). On initial consideration, the Social Security Administration denied Claimant's claims for benefits. (Tr. 79-83). Claimant requested a hearing before an Administrative Law Judge ("ALJ"). (Tr. 84-86). On August 7, 2012, a hearing was held before an ALJ. (Tr. 32-75). Claimant testified and was represented by counsel. (Id.). Vocational Expert Julie Bose also testified at the hearing. (Tr. 69-75). Thereafter, on August 23, 2012, the ALJ issued a decision denying Claimant's claims for benefits. (Tr. 13-27). After considering the representative brief, the Appeals Council found no basis for changing the ALJ's decision on October 21, 2013. (Tr. 1-6, 9-12, 240-43). The ALJ's determination thus stands as the final decision of the Commissioner. 42 U.S.C. § 405(g).
A. Hearing on August 7, 2012
At the hearing on August 7, 2012, Claimant testified in response to questions posed by the ALJ and counsel. (Tr. 32-75). At the time of the hearing, Claimant was twenty-six years of age, and his date of birth is April 7, 1986. (Tr. 39). Claimant stands at five feet ten inches and weighs 145 pounds. (Tr. 39). He is right-handed. (Tr. 40). Claimant is single without children and lives with two friends. He takes care of fourteen dogs and a dozen cats. (Tr. 40). Claimant receives food stamps and Medicaid, and he helps around the house in lieu of paying rent. (Tr. 41-42). He takes care of the animals and does yard work. (Tr. 42). Claimant completed the eleventh grade and then received his GED. (Tr. 42). He received computer training at the Job Corps. (Tr. 43). Claimant has a computer, a cell phone, an email address, and a Facebook page. (Tr. 43).
Claimant testified that on June 30, 2011, he was experiencing extreme depression and having suicidal thoughts and presented at a hospital for admission. (Tr. 44). He testified that his stress and anxiety prevent him from performing a sit-down job. (Tr. 44). He last worked as a janitor in a health center from August, 2009 through February 15, 2010 cleaning rooms in a nursing home. (Tr. 44-45). Claimant was fired, because the other employees were bothered by his talking to himself on the job. (Tr. 45). He mopped floors and lifted trash. Claimant testified that he could not perform the janitorial job, because he has problems being around groups of people. Prior to working as a janitor, he worked as a crew member at Arby's for two to three months in 2009. (Tr.45). Claimant prepared sandwiches, worked the drive-through window, and worked the cash register. (Tr. 46). He quit after his car broke down, and he lacked transportation to get to work. He attended the Job Corps in 2007-2008 and was trained in computer repair and received some payment. (Tr. 46). He performed dock-loading work for one month at a potato products manufacturing company, but family issues forced him to leave the job and move back to Missouri. (Tr. 47). He worked for two to three months on an assembly line at a shoe factory sorting shoe soles based on color and size, but he quit when he no longer wanted the job. Claimant worked at McDonald's for nine months, but he quit when his hours were cut. (Tr. 48). Since June 30, 2011, he has not worked, but he has applied for jobs every couple of months. (Tr. 49). Claimant testified that he has applied for stocking jobs at a grocery stores, because the jobs require little interaction with people. When he applies for a job, he goes to the store and asks if the store is hiring. (Tr. 49).
After waking up around 9:00 a.m., Claimant cleans the house and helps Ms. Wood, one of his roommates, lift and carry things and complete daily activities. (Tr. 50). He plays video gamesand completes his online school work. (Tr. 51). He is enrolled in ITT Tech and is working on a two-year associate degree in Web design technology. Claimant testified that he receives the assignments at the beginning of the week and completes them when he has time. (Tr. 52). He taken out student loans and applied for grants. He explained the purpose of getting an associate's degree would be to further his education and be able to obtain employment he could perform from home. He plays video puzzle games on the computer and watches television. (Tr. 52). If he enjoys a particular game, he can play the game for four to six hours. (Tr. 53). Claimant does yard work and mows the lawn and helps take care of the outside animals. (Tr. 54). He goes grocery shopping or dog food shopping once a week for an hour or two. (Tr. 56). Claimant helps wash the dishes, makes his bed, vacuums, and dusts. (Tr. 57).
Although Claimant has a driver's license, he has not driven after June 30, 2011, because he does not own a vehicle. (Tr. 57). He has no driving limitations and would drive if he owned a vehicle. (Tr. 58). He smokes a package of cigarettes each day, and Ms. Wood purchases the cigarettes for him. (Tr. 59).
Claimant takes Chlordiazep for anxiety and testified the medication helps him. (Tr. 59). He takes Pristiq for depression, and he testified the medication is working better than Celexa. (Tr. 60). Dr. Gowda changed his medication one month earlier. (Tr. 60). Dr. Gowda treats his depression, and Claimant testified that Dr. Gowda has helped him. (Tr. 62). He has not been hospitalized recently for depression. (Tr. 63). He has difficulty putting his thoughts into words. He last experienced a panic attack two months earlier, and he blanked out and was non-responsive. He testified how loud noises triggers his anxiety. (Tr. 63). Petting an animal or playing a video game calms him down. (Tr. 64). He was last hospitalized in June 2011 fortreatment of depression and anxiety. He received treatment in the emergency room two months earlier. (Tr. 64).
Claimant testified that he does not have any problems concentrating or paying attention. (Tr. 65). He testified that gets along fine with people except he can be shy around a new person. He has no problems understanding instructions. (Tr. 65). He has some anxiety being in public in general. (Tr. 67).
Vocational Expert Julie Bose testified in response to the ALJ's questions. (Tr. 69-75). Ms. Bose summarized his last job as a janitor, light exertional level as described in his testimony and unskilled. (Tr. 70).
(Tr. 71). Ms. Bose responded yes, based on the hypothetical, such individual could perform work as a janitor as normally performed and as performed by Claimant. (Tr. 71). She further opined such individual could perform other work including medium, unskilled positions such as a laundry worker, with 4,100 jobs in Missouri and 280,489 available nationally; hand packer with 2,600 jobs in Missouri and 89,029 available nationally; and a cleaner II with 3,100 jobs in Missouri and 110,133 available nationally. (Tr. 72-73).
(Tr. 72). Ms. Bose responded there would be no change in the numbers and all the previous jobs she cited could be performed. (Tr. 72-73).
(Tr. 73-74). Ms. Bose responded such individual could perform work altogether including his past relevant work. (Tr. 74).
In the Disability Report -...
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