Sabrina W. v. Comm'r Soc. Sec. Admin., Case No. 6:19-cv-00032-AC
| Decision Date | 16 December 2020 |
| Docket Number | Case No. 6:19-cv-00032-AC |
| Parties | SABRINA W. Plaintiff, v. COMMISSIONER SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION, Defendant. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — District of Oregon |
Plaintiff Sabrina W. ("Plaintiff") filed this action under section 205(g) of the Social Security Act (the "Act") as amended, 42 U.S.C. § 405(g), to review the final decision of the Commissioner of Social Security (the "Commissioner") who denied her social security disability insurance benefits ("DIB") and supplemental security income ("SSI")(collectively "Benefits"). The court finds the decision of the Administrative Law Judge ("ALJ") to characterize Plaintiff'spast relevant work as apartment manager, rather than a composite job of apartment manager and apartment maintenances, and his reasons for discounting Plaintiff's subjective testimony are supported by the record. Accordingly, the Commissioner's final decision is affirmed.2
On June 25, 2010, Plaintiff filed applications for Benefits alleging an onset date of May 30, 2010, for limitations related to osteoporosis and right-eye blindness. The applications were denied initially, on reconsideration, and by ALJ Rudolph M. Murgo ("ALJ Murgo") after a hearing held on September 21, 2012 ("First Hearing"). In his decision dated October 5, 2012, ALJ Murgo found Plaintiff was "capable of performing past relevant work as an apartment manager" as that job is "generally performed" and was not disabled through October 5, 2012. (Tr. of Social Security Administrative R., ECF No. 22 ("Admin. R."), at 104, 106.) He expressly relied on the vocational expert's testimony on work-related activities required for Plaintiff's past relevant work of apartment manager, apartment maintenance, day care worker, and hospital housekeeper, and her conclusion that Plaintiff could still perform the duties of an apartment manager as identified in the Dictionary of Occupational Titles ("DOT"). (Admin. R. at 104.) The Appeals Council denied review and ALJ Murgo's decision became the final decision of the Commissioner for the period ending on October 5, 2012.
In June 2014, Plaintiff filed a new application for DIB, as well as an application for SSI, both alleging an onset date of October 6, 2012. The applications were denied initially, on reconsideration, and by ALJ Rebecca L. Jones ("ALJ Jones"), after a hearing held on February 15, 2017 (the "Second Hearing"). The Appeals Council accepted and considered Plaintiff's additionalarguments, including clarification of her duties performed in her past relevant work as an apartment manager, and denied review, making ALJ Jones's decision the final decision of the Commissioner.
Plaintiff is sixty years old. In her applications, she represented she completed twelfth grade but explained at hearing that she finished "level eight" in German schools, which was significantly less than required for a high school diploma in America. (Admin. R. at 13-14.) Her past relevant work experience includes apartment manager and/or apartment maintenance worker. Plaintiff has not been involved in a successful work attempt since August 2010. She alleges disability because of degenerative bone and disk disease, an extra disk in her lower back, osteoarthritis, right-eye blindness, glaucoma and cataracts in her left eye, a "frozen" left shoulder, limited motion in her right shoulder, and bone spurs in both knees. (Admin. R. at 434.) Plaintiff last met the insured status requirements entitling her to DIB on December 31, 2015. (Admin. R. at 96, 430.)
Plaintiff, with the help of her husband, completed a Function Report on August 16, 2014 ("Report"). (Admin. R. at 460-67.) She indicated her left shoulder is completely "locked up" and her right shoulder is "locking up," causing tremendous pain when she lifts, carries or reaches for things; that she experiences constant pain in her neck and shoulders; that she suffers headaches; and that she has numbness and loss of strength in her hands. (Admin. R. at 460.) She reported "tremendous" pain in her back when she stoops, bends, kneels, or walks for very long; her knees become weak with walking; and her right-eye blindness causes her to run into things. (Admin. R. at 460.)
Plaintiff described her average day as follows:
I get up at 5:00 AM and my husband assists me with my daily needs that I can't do for myself. At 6:15 when my husband leaves to work, I lay back down, and sleep after taking medication. I get up around 10:00 to 10:30 AM, and let my medical dog to pee outside and feed him. Then I have lunch that is prepared most of the time. Then I relax and wait for my husband.
Plaintiff stated she needed her husband's help with getting dressed, washing her back, shoulders, and hair in the shower, using a curling iron, and putting on jewelry due to her inability to reach or "do anything that stretches or pulls hard." (Admin. R. at 462.) She was able to make easy meals, mostly "TV dinners" and sandwiches, but needed her husband to open cans or containers, and lift heavy objects from shelfs, lower cupboards, and the refrigerator. (Admin. R. at 462.) She was unable to do any household chores other than dusting and wiping down counters within her reach for about ten minutes twice a week and her husband was primarily responsible for bathing, feeding, and walking the dog. (Admin. R. at 461, 463.) Plaintiff reported she did not shop; did not go outside by herself because of weakness in her legs, fear of falling, and panic attacks; and did not drive due to her poor vision. (Admin. R. at 463.) She did not spend time with others and left her apartment only to sit on a chair on her patio or porch or get the mail. (Admin. R. at 463-64.) She had difficulty sleeping due to pain in her joints, arms, shoulders, and neck. (Admin. R. at 461.)
Plaintiff indicated her conditions prevented her from lifting more than a few pounds, squatting or kneeling more than a minute or two, standing or walking more than fifteen to twenty minutes, and climbing more than a few steps. (Admin. R. at 465.) She had pain with bending, did not have normal strength in her hands, could not reach far, and had a blind spot and her ability to remember, concentrate, and complete tasks were lessened by fatigue. (Admin. R. at 465.) She hasused a neck brace since prescribed in 2000, TENS therapy since prescribed in 2012, and glasses with a special lens since prescribed in 1968. (Admin. R. at 460, 466.)
As a child, Plaintiff attended a school for the learning disabled in Germany because she missed a year and a half of school after losing her right eye when she was seven years old. (Admin. R. at 13, 55.) She is able to speak and read in both English and German, but able to write, add, and subtract well only in German. (Admin. R. at 14, 15, 47.)
At the time of the both the First and the Second Hearing, Plaintiff lived in a ground floor apartment with her husband. (Admin. R. at 9, 45.) She testified she had her driver's license and drove, on average, twice a week during daylight hours. (Admin. R. at 11, 46.) By the Second Hearing, Plaintiff's husband had been receiving DIB for six months due to a terminal cancer diagnosis. (Admin. R. at 10.)
In the First Hearing, Plaintiff testified she had pain in her neck, shoulders, and low back, for which she took Advil and other pain relievers that "helped [her] a lot." (Admin. R. at 57, 58.) Her treating physician recommended stretching and heat exercises, but Plaintiff discontinued such treatment because it hurt. (Admin. R. at 59-60.)
Plaintiff explained her average day included taking a shower, making breakfast, drinking coffee, watching television, picking up the house a bit, taking care of her seven-pound Pomeranian, communicating with her sister on the computer for fifteen or twenty minutes at a time, and walking the dog with her husband when he returned from work. (Admin. R. at 52-54, 60.) Her husband helped her with her personal care, such as showering and combing her hair, as well as cooking. (Admin. R. at 51-52.) Plaintiff did the dishes, swept the floor, and dusted the house while her husband did most of the shopping and the laundry. (Admin. R. at 52.) Plaintiff reported she was unable to walk more than fifteen to twenty minutes (about two blocks) or sit for an hour, could lifta gallon of milk with her right hand, but not her left, and needed to recline four or five times a day for thirty to forty-five minutes to relax her back. (Admin. R. at 50, 51, 60.)
At the Second Hearing, Plaintiff represented she was unable to work due to pain in her shoulders and lower back that caused extreme headaches and required prescription medication or injections, as well as issues related to previous knee surgeries. (Admin. R. at 19, 24.) She indicated her pain started in the upper part of her neck, moved to the middle of her back, and then shot down her arms and left her hands stiff and fingers numb. (Admin. R. at 21-22.) She took Tylenol and Advil daily for her shoulder pain and Tramadol or hydrocodone for break-out pain about every other day. (Admin. R. at 21.) She purchased a TENS unit that "relieve[d] . . . the immediate pain a bit" in the morning and allowed her to move around and take her medication. (Admin. R. at 25.) She claimed strength and nerve conduction tests established she had chronic permanent muscle damage but was unable to identify any such testing other than a nerve conduction study in 2014 that was normal. (Admin. R. at 20.)
Plaintiff reported she could walk half a block before needing to rest for three or four minutes and sit for about twenty minutes before needing to move around for three or four minutes. (Admin. R. at 26, 27.) She occasionally used a walker to get around the apartment, do laundry, and get the mail. (Admin. R. at 26.) She indicated she shared the cooking, shopping, and cleaning duties with her...
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