Sobania v. Secretary of Health & Human Services

• Decision Date: 19 July 1989
• Docket Number: No. 88-5323,88-5323
• Parties: , Unempl.Ins.Rep. CCH 14782A David SOBANIA, Appellant, v. SECRETARY OF HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES, Appellee.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Eighth Circuit

Page 441

879 F.2d 441

26 Soc.Sec.Rep.Ser. 241, Unempl.Ins.Rep. CCH 14782A

David SOBANIA, Appellant, v. SECRETARY OF HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES, Appellee.

No. 88-5323.

United States Court of Appeals Eighth Circuit.

Submitted May 10, 1989.

Decided July 19, 1989.

Mark G. Olive, Minneapolis, Minn., for appellant.

Patricia R. Cangemi, Minneapolis, Minn., and Donna L. Calvert, Chicago, Ill., for appellee.

Before BEAM, Circuit Judge, MARKEY, ^* Chief Judge, and HENLEY, Senior Circuit Judge.

HENLEY, Senior Circuit Judge.

In this appeal, David Sobania challenges the district court's ¹ order granting summary judgment in favor of the Secretary of Health and Human Services (Secretary) and affirming the Secretary's decision denying Sobania's applications for disability benefits and supplemental security income (SSI). For reversal, Sobania argues that (1) the Secretary's determination that he is not disabled within the meaning of the Social Security Act is not supported by substantial evidence in the record as a whole; and (2) the Secretary erred in relying upon vocational expert testimony to sustain the burden of proving that suitable employment exists in the national economy for a person with Sobania's limitations because the hypothetical presented to the vocational expert omitted certain pertinent facts. We affirm.

Sobania was born in 1963, has a high school education and was previously employed as a heavy equipment operator for a construction company. He filed the above-mentioned applications in July, 1985, alleging disability since October 29, 1983 as the result of injuries sustained in an automobile accident. Both applications were denied at the administrative level, as was Sobania's petition for reconsideration. Upon Sobania's request, a hearing was then held before an Administrative Law Judge (ALJ).

The evidence presented to the ALJ indicates that Sobania was injured in a two-car collision on October 29, 1983. Upon impact, the vehicle in which Sobania was a passenger burst into flames, causing him to suffer severe burns over approximately thirty per cent of his body. In addition, Sobania suffered a right temporal laceration and a ruptured spleen. He was in a hospital for nearly two months under the care of Dr. Lynn Solem and Dr. David Ahrenholz. While in the hospital, Sobania underwent several skin grafts whereby skin from his back and thighs was transplanted to his arms, legs, abdomen, face, neck and wrist. He was discharged December 22, 1983. Upon discharge, he was instructed to wear a body suit over his entire body in order to prevent hypertrophy ² of the grafted areas.

Generally speaking, the medical reports after Sobania's discharge indicate that his burns were healing well and that he had a fairly good range of motion except in his right thumb and wrist. The medical reports throughout the early spring of 1984 reflect active hypertrophic scarring over his legs, abdomen, arms, neck and face. In April, 1984, however, Dr. Solem noted a marked decrease in hypertrophic scarring on Sobania's face and neck. Of critical importance to the ALJ's decision in this case is a letter prepared by Dr. Solem dated October 23, 1984. In this letter, Dr. Solem suggested that Sobania "be considered disabled from the time of injury until today's date at which time he will be released to work with restrictions of having to avoid the extremes of temperature, petroleum and toxic chemicals, and the use of precautions, i.e., sunscreen when exposed to the sun." Similarly, the subsequent medical evidence of record reflects that Sobania's progress was good, that he had participated in physical therapy, but that some future surgery might be required, particularly with respect to his scarring.

Sobania also underwent three psychological examinations in the spring and early fall of 1984. The reports of these examinations generally indicate that he suffered some memory loss. In addition, one of these examinations, an extensive neuropsychological examination conducted April 13, 1984 by Dr. Manfred J. Meier, a psychologist, reflected that Sobania was functioning at the upper end of the borderline mentally retarded range. Dr. Meier also noted a mild impairment of attention and concentration but added that Sobania's planning and foresight abilities were at the high average level. Relatedly, after performing mental status testing and a neurological examination, Dr. Jan Weber, who examined Sobania on September 12, 1985, concluded that he had the ability to understand and follow instructions such as those necessary for unskilled or semi-skilled work. Similarly, Dr. Weber opined that Sobania's attention span permitted the performance of simple, repetitive tasks but that he would confront difficulty withstanding the stress of jobs with speed or accuracy requirements because of his scarred hands and memory deficits. In addition, Dr. Weber suggested that Sobania was under stress both because of the pain he experienced and his disfigurement, which would likely interfere with his ability to work with the public.

Sobania testified that due to the weakness in his hands and wrists, he has difficulty lifting more than a "little weight." He added, however, that he is able to dress and wash himself. He testified that because of the limited motion in his arms and hands as a result of the burns, he has difficulty turning his hands and fully extending his arms. He further stated that his upper and lower neck are sore and stiff because of the skin grafts taken from these areas; he can sit for approximately one-half hour before low back pain necessitates a change in position. Relatedly, Sobania testified that he can only stand for three to five minutes before his left leg tingles and hurts. His leg injuries also limit the distance he can walk, which he estimated at approximately eighty yards. Sobania further estimated that he spends approximately three hours a day lying down because of the pain in his legs and back.

Sobania reported that he feels limited in going out in public because of his facial disfigurement. In addition, he stated that he is required to wear a plastic mask and body suit, to apply ointment to his burns on a daily basis, to take numerous baths to cool his body temperature, to wear a mouthpiece and nose device at night, and to avoid extremes in temperature. He testified that he is confined to his home for most, if not all, of the day. Finally, he testified that he would like to return to work but feels unable to do so because of his memory impairment.

After considering this evidence, the ALJ found that Sobania was severely impaired as the result of post-burn scars, but concluded that he did not have an impairment or combination of impairments equal to those contained in the Secretary's listings. In addition, the ALJ determined that Sobania was unable to return to his past work because it was too strenuous for his capabilities. The ALJ stated that although he believed Sobania has a capacity for lifting more than five pounds, he would impose a five pound restriction on Sobania's residual functional capacity due to the pain he experienced in lifting heavier objects. The ALJ adopted Dr. Solem's recommendation that Sobania avoid extremes in temperature, petroleum products and other toxic chemicals, and the sun. The ALJ added that Sobania was "limited to simple, repetitive tasks which can be performed with only simple instructions and which do not involve significant speed with respect to manual dexterity," and that Sobania "cannot work at jobs involving significant interaction with the general public."

In arriving at these restrictions, the ALJ discounted Sobania's subjective complaints of disabling pain which,...