Stuckey v. Sullivan

• Decision Date: 09 August 1989
• Docket Number: No. 88-2954,88-2954
• Citation: 881 F.2d 506
• Parties: , Unempl.Ins.Rep. CCH 14841A James STUCKEY, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. Louis W. SULLIVAN, M.D., * Secretary of Health and Human Services, Defendant-Appellee.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Seventh Circuit

Page 506

881 F.2d 506

26 Soc.Sec.Rep.Ser. 509, Unempl.Ins.Rep. CCH 14841A

James STUCKEY, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. Louis W. SULLIVAN, M.D., ^* Secretary of Health and Human Services, Defendant-Appellee.

No. 88-2954.

United States Court of Appeals, Seventh Circuit.

Argued June 5, 1989.

Decided Aug. 9, 1989.

Daniel Galatzer, Chicago, Ill., for plaintiff-appellant.

Barbara M. King, Dept. of Health and Human Services, Eileen M. Marutzky, Asst. U.S. Atty., Chicago, Ill., for defendant-appellee.

Before CUMMINGS, WOOD, Jr., and RIPPLE, Circuit Judges.

HARLINGTON WOOD, Jr., Circuit Judge.

Plaintiff-appellant James D. Stuckey ("Stuckey") appeals from the district court's entry of summary judgment in favor of the Secretary of Health and Human Services ("Secretary"). The district court upheld the Secretary's decision that Stuckey was ineligible for disability insurance benefits under Title II of the Social Security Act, 42 U.S.C. Secs. 416(i), 423 ("Act"), finding that the Secretary's determination that Stuckey was not disabled within the meaning of 42 U.S.C. Sec. 1382(a)(3)(A) was supported by substantial evidence. Stuckey challenges that finding in this appeal. The district court had jurisdiction over this case pursuant to 42 U.S.C. Sec. 405(g). We review this decision under 28 U.S.C. Sec. 1291 and 42 U.S.C. Sec. 405(g).

I. FACTUAL BACKGROUND

Stuckey was born on August 8, 1944. He received an eighth-grade education and last worked in a warehouse, where he drove a forklift and did some heavy lifting. Stuckey claims that he has been disabled since March 28, 1984 and that he is unable to return to his warehouse job. Stuckey applied for disability benefits, asserting disabilities stemming from a number of impairments including asthma, cirrhosis of the liver, bad kidneys, hearing loss, heart trouble, knee pains, and high blood pressure. Stuckey's application for disability benefits was denied by the Social Security Administration and he asked for a hearing on that denial.

At his administrative hearing in April 1987, Stuckey elaborated on these claimed disabilities. He claimed that he could walk four blocks, sit from one to two hours, and stand for up to thirty minutes, but he stated that he was unable to climb stairs. Stuckey used asthma spray four to five times a day and visited the hospital emergency room for an asthma attack a few days prior to the administrative hearing. Stuckey claimed that perfumes, smoke, temperature changes, and even the heat from a kitchen stove caused him to start coughing.

Dr. Casey, the medical advisor, also testified at the administrative hearing. Dr. Casey stated that Stuckey's infirmities did not meet the requirements laid down in the Listing of Impairments, 20 C.F.R. Part 404, Subpart P, Appendix 1. Specifically, Dr. Casey testified that Stuckey did not meet the pulmonary listings. Dr. Casey also indicated that with respect to Stuckey's claimed knee pains, he could find no abnormality to explain the pain and he stated that Stuckey had tested normally on the treadmill test, discounting Stuckey's claim of chest pains. Dr. Casey also was of the opinion that Stuckey did not meet the severity requirements of the asthma listing. A vocational expert, Meyer Klein, testified that while Stuckey was unable to return to his former job, he could find substantial gainful employment in other positions connected with the warehouse, such as a supply clerk or order filler, that would not involve contact with dust, fumes, and gases.

The ALJ determined that Stuckey did not meet the requirements under the Listing of Impairments for pulmonary disability due to the absence of a pulmonary function study test. According to the ALJ, there was no support for most of Stuckey's medical assertions. Physical examinations showed a full range of motion and a normal gait, leading the ALJ to conclude that Stuckey would still be able to walk and stand from six to eight hours a day, use his hands extensively, and lift up to twenty pounds. The ALJ also found that Stuckey could still perform light work. Although his choice of employment would be constrained by the need to avoid excessive dust and fumes, the ALJ considered Stuckey's work experience, education, and functional capacity in determining that Stuckey was not disabled.

The Social Security Appeals Council refused to review the ALJ's decision, making that decision the final decision of the Secretary. Stuckey then filed this action in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. Both parties filed motions for summary judgment in district court. The court denied Stuckey's motion and granted the Secretary's motion on September 27, 1988; this appeal followed.

II. DISCUSSION

Under the Social Security Act, claimants are entitled to disability insurance benefits if they are under age 65, file an application, are disabled, and are insured. 42 U.S.C. Sec. 423(a). The Act defines "disabled" as the "inability to engage in any substantial gainful activity by reason of any medically determinable physical or mental impairment which can be expected to result in death or which has lasted or can be expected to last for a continuous period of not less than 12 months." 42 U.S.C. Sec. 423(d)(1)(A). A person will be found to be disabled

only if his physical or mental impairment or impairments are of such severity that he is not only unable to do his previous work but cannot, considering his age, education, and work experience, engage in any other kind of substantial gainful work which exists in the national economy, regardless of whether such work exists in the immediate area in which he lives, or whether a specific job vacancy exists for him, or whether he would be hired if he applied for work.

42 U.S.C. Sec. 423(d)(2)(A).

The Secretary engages in a five-step process to determine whether a claimant is disabled within the meaning of the Act. See Steward v. Bowen, 858 F.2d 1295, 1297 (7th Cir.1988). First, if the claimant is currently employed, he will be found not disabled. If the claimant is not working, the Secretary then examines medical evidence to determine whether the claimant has a severe impairment as defined in 20 C.F.R. Sec. 404.1521(b) and 20 C.F.R. Sec. 416.921. If there is no severe impairment, the Secretary will find the claimant not disabled. If there is a severe impairment, the Secretary then measures the impairment against the requirements in the Listing of Impairments. If the claimant has a listed impairment, disability will be found. If the claimant does not have a listed impairment, the Secretary then determines whether the claimant can perform his past work. If yes, then there is no disability. If no, the Secretary considers the claimant's age, work history, and education to find out whether he can do any other work. If he cannot perform other work, disability will be found. If, however, other work is available, the claimant will be found not disabled.

The Act itself gives us the standard of review to be applied in this case: "The findings of the Secretary as to any fact, if supported by substantial evidence, shall be conclusive." 42 U.S.C. Sec. 405(g). The ALJ's finding that Stuckey was not disabled must be upheld if it is supported by substantial evidence on the record. Farrell v. Sullivan, 878 F.2d 985, 988 (7th Cir.1989). We will not reweigh the evidence presented at the administrative hearing, Walker v. Bowen, 834 F.2d 635, 640 (7th Cir.1987), and we will not determine whether Stuckey was actually disabled. Farrell, at 988; Walker, 834 F.2d at 640; Fox v. Heckler, 776 F.2d 738, 742 (7th Cir.1985). Absent an error of law by the Secretary, we must affirm if substantial evidence is present. Steward, 858 F.2d at 1297; Garfield v. Schweiker, 732 F.2d 605, 607 (7th Cir.1984).

Stuckey first claims that his combined impairments render him disabled within the meaning of the Act. To establish physical or mental impairments, a claimant must present actual medical evidence of symptoms, laboratory findings, and other information. A claimant's statement of symptoms is not sufficient to establish the existence of an impairment; some objective evidence should be present. 20 C.F.R. Secs. 404.1508, 404.1528; see Veal v. Bowen, 833 F.2d 693, 698 (7th Cir.1987); Farrell, at 989-90.

The ALJ found, and the district court affirmed, that Stuckey's combined impairments did not make him disabled and there is substantial evidence in the record to support that conclusion. The medical evidence contained in the record did not support Stuckey's claims and the Secretary properly concluded that Stuckey was not disabled by the conditions he asserted. His knee pains were...