Swindle v. Sullivan
| Decision Date | 10 October 1990 |
| Docket Number | No. 89-7838,89-7838 |
| Citation | 914 F.2d 222 |
| Parties | , Unempl.Ins.Rep. CCH 15712A Johness F. SWINDLE, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. Louis W. SULLIVAN, as Secretary, Department of Health and Human Services, Defendant-Appellee. Non-Argument Calendar. |
| Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — Eleventh Circuit |
Nelson Simmons, Jr., Legal Services of North-Central Alabama, Inc., Decatur, Ala., for plaintiff-appellant.
Frank W. Donaldson, U.S. Atty., Jenny L. Smith, Asst. U.S. Atty., Birmingham, Ala., Bruce R. Granger, Mary Ann Sloan, Mack A. Davis, Susan Elizabeth Henderson, Dept. of Health & Human Services, Atlanta, Ga., for defendant-appellee.
Appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern District of Alabama.
Before KRAVITCH, ANDERSON and CLARK, Circuit Judges.
Claimant Johness Swindle filed an application for Supplemental Security Income ("SSI") Benefits in October, 1986. After her application was denied initially and on reconsideration, she requested a hearing. On October 2, 1987, a hearing was held before an Administrative Law Judge ("ALJ"), who denied her benefits in a decision dated March 30, 1988. That decision was subsequently affirmed by the Appeals Council, and Ms. Swindle filed the present action in federal district court pursuant to 42 U.S.C. Sec. 1383(c)(3). The district court affirmed the ALJ's decision, holding that it is supported by substantial evidence and is based on proper legal standards. As explained below, we find that the ALJ's determination that Ms. Swindle's testimony regarding non-exertional limitations due to
persistent pain and dizziness was not credible is not supported by substantial evidence, and therefore we reverse and remand this case to the ALJ for further consideration in light of this opinion.
At the hearing, Ms. Swindle testified that she was 38, has a 9th grade education, and previously worked as a waitress and a laborer in a furniture factory. (HHS Trans. at 26-27). She stopped working in September 1986. She testified that she suffers from lupus and experiences headaches, dizziness, weakness, rashes, itchiness, pain and swelling in the joints of her ankles, knees, elbows, and shoulders, soreness and pain in her feet, sleeplessness, anxiety, and depression. Ms. Swindle expressed that prednisone and benadryl decrease the itching of her rashes, and she is unaware of any side effects from her medication except that the prednisone may contribute to her headaches. (Id. at 28-32). She felt that she was disabled because of feeling dizzy, like she was "going to pass out," and because the pain and soreness in her feet prevented her from standing long enough to work. (Id. at 32).
The medical evidence showed that in 1985, Dr. Rodney Morris, Ms. Swindle's treating physician from July 1985 through February 1987, diagnosed her as having systemic lupus erythematous with positive rheumatoid factor and two positive ANA's, and angina pectoris. (Id. at 88-99, 114). Dr. Morris's notes also indicated that he consistently treated Ms. Swindle with various medications for pain, itching, and other lupus-related symptoms. (Id. at 76-89, 101-02).
In October of 1985, Dr. Macon Phillips, a consulting physician and rheumatology specialist, observed that Ms. Swindle's symptoms included rashes, pleuritic chest pain, arthralgia, swelling, morning stiffness, drying of the eyes, and some generalized weakness. Dr. Phillips found full range of motion in her joints, and no synovitis. (Id. at 114-15). In December 1985, following various tests, Dr. Phillips opined that Ms. Swindle had Sjogren's syndrome and suspected that her nodules represented vasculitis. Dr. Phillips further opined that "patients with Sjogren's often overlap rheumatoid arthritis and systemic lupus." (Id. at 110).
From August through November 1987, Ms. Swindle was treated three times in hospital emergency for numbness and burning sensation in the left leg, chest pains, headaches, nerves and pressure in the head. (Id. at 104-09).
In January 1988, Dr. Jan Dohlman, an evaluating physician, indicated that Ms. Swindle was healthy until two years previously, when she developed a purpuric rash, painful feet, and positive blood tests consistent with lupus. (Id. at 117). Dr. Dohlman stated that Ms. Swindle was treated with prednisone and responded well, but in late 1987, she developed numbness in her left lateral calf and foot, recurrence of rash, fatigue, nausea, hair loss, and arthralgia. Ms. Swindle was placed on an increased dose of prednisone for several weeks with improvement of most symptoms. Although Dr. Dohlman found that the numbness in Ms. Swindle's left leg had resolved, the left lateral aspect of her foot above the ankle had become involved and continued to be numb and quite painful. Dr. Dohlman found her motor function to be intact and found no synovitis. Electromylogram and nerve conduction studies revealed a left deep peroneal neuropathy. A few weeks after Ms. Swindle was placed on an increased dose of prednisone, her left ankle showed slight improvement but the left extremity otherwise remained unchanged. She also developed some numbness in her right forefoot. Physical exam revealed bilateral parotid gland swelling and tenderness. (Id. at 118).
After the hearing, the ALJ requested an assessment by a medical advisor, Dr. Hibbett. (Id. at 120). Dr. Hibbett examined the record and noted, inter alia, that Ms. Swindle was diagnosed with systemic lupus and tested positive for rheumatoid arthritis. He opined that her impairments neither met nor equaled a listed impairment and felt that she could perform sedentary work although she was precluded from vigorous The ALJ found that Ms. Swindle had severe disseminated lupus erythematosus, but she did not have an impairment or combination of impairments which met or equaled a listing. (Id. at 14-15). The ALJ further found that she could not perform her past relevant work and that her testimony was credible to the extent that she was limited to sedentary work without significant standing or walking; her residual functional capacity was reduced only slightly by her non-exertional limitation of avoiding exposure to the sun. The ALJ applied the Grids and determined that Ms. Swindle was not disabled. (Id. at 15).
outdoor work and should avoid exposure to the sun. (Id. at 121-22).
Our review of factual findings made by an ALJ in SSI disability cases is limited to a determination of whether such findings are supported by substantial evidence. 42 U.S.C. Sec. 405(g) (1982); Richardson v. Perales, 402 U.S. 389, 390, 91 S.Ct. 1420, 1422, 28 L.Ed.2d 842 (1971); Walker v. Bowen, 826 F.2d 996, 999 (11th Cir.1987). "In determining whether substantial evidence exists, we must view the record as a whole, taking into account evidence favorable as well as unfavorable to the Secretary's decision." Chester v. Bowen, 792 F.2d 129, 131 (11th Cir.1986). In contrast, our review of the ALJ's application of legal principles is plenary. Walker, 826 F.2d at 999.
Ms. Swindle argues on appeal that the ALJ improperly discounted her testimony about the persistent pain and dizziness she experiences. The appropriate legal standard for evaluating a claimant's subjective complaint of pain is for the ALJ:
to consider a claimant's subjective testimony of pain if he finds evidence of an underlying medical condition, and either (1) objective medical evidence to confirm the severity of the alleged pain arising from that condition or (2) that the objectively determined medical condition must be of a severity which can reasonably be expected to give rise to the alleged pain.
Id. at 1004 (citation omitted). 1
Ms. Swindle testified at the hearing that she often feels dizzy, as if she were "going to pass out," and that she experiences foot pain and soreness that prevents her from standing for any length of time. HHS Trans. at 32. The medical evidence in the record shows that Ms. Swindle suffers from systemic lupus with a positive rheumatoid factor, Sjogren's syndrome, and suspected...
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Issue Topics
...evidence that a claimant’s systemic lupus could not give rise to pain in her lower extremities and dizziness. Swindle v. Sullivan , 914 F.2d 222, 226 (11th Cir. 1990). On this basis, the Eleventh Circuit found that the ALJ’s determination that her testimony regarding pain and dizziness was ......
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Issue topics
...evidence that a claimant’s systemic lupus could not give rise to pain in her lower extremities and dizziness. Swindle v. Sullivan , 914 F.2d 222, 226 (11th Cir. 1990). On this basis, the Eleventh Circuit found that the ALJ’s determination that her testimony regarding pain and dizziness was ......
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Issue topics
...evidence that a claimant’s systemic lupus could not give rise to pain in her lower extremities and dizziness. Swindle v. Sullivan , 914 F.2d 222, 226 (11th Cir. 1990). On this basis, the Eleventh Circuit found that the ALJ’s determination that her testimony regarding pain and dizziness was ......
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Table of Cases
...§ 702.3 Swenson v. Sullivan , 876 F.2d 683, 687 (9th Cir. 1989), 9th-11, 9th-04, §§ 101.3, 107.1, 607.6, 1210.12 Swindle v. Sullivan , 914 F.2d 222, 226 (11th Cir. 1990), §§ 1311.2, 1505 Switzer v. Heckler, 742 F.2d 382, 385-86 (7th Cir. 1984), 10th-04 Swope v. Barnhart, 436 F.3d 1023 (8th ......