Tejada v. Apfel, Docket No. 98-6056

• Decision Date: 10 February 1999
• Docket Number: Docket No. 98-6056
• Citation: 167 F.3d 770
• Parties: , Unempl.Ins.Rep. (CCH) P 16185B Maria TEJADA, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. Kenneth S. APFEL, Commissioner of Social Security, Defendant-Appellee.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Second Circuit

Page 770

167 F.3d 770

60 Soc.Sec.Rep.Ser. 90, Unempl.Ins.Rep. (CCH) P 16185B

Maria TEJADA, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. Kenneth S. APFEL, Commissioner of Social Security, Defendant-Appellee.

Docket No. 98-6056.

United States Court of Appeals Second Circuit.

Argued Nov. 12, 1998.

Decided Feb. 10, 1999.

Christopher James Bowes, Center for Disability Advocacy Rights, Inc., New York, N.Y. (Jill Ann Boskey, on the brief), for Plaintiff-Appellant.

Susan D. Baird, Assistant United States Attorney, Southern District of New York, New York, N.Y. (Mary Jo White, United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Steven M. Haber, Assistant United States Attorney, of counsel), for Defendant-Appellee.

Before: CALABRESI and STRAUB, Circuit Judges, and TSOUCALAS, Judge. ^*

TSOUCALAS, Judge:

Maria Tejada appeals from the judgment entered in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (Sidney H. Stein, District Judge, adopting the Report and Recommendation of Andrew J. Peck, Magistrate Judge ), granting defendant's motion for judgment on the pleadings and upholding a final determination by the Commissioner of Social Security ("Commissioner") denying Tejada's application for Supplemental Security Income ("SSI") disability benefits. See Tejada v. Callahan, 993 F.Supp. 193 (S.D.N.Y.1998). For the reasons discussed below, we vacate and remand for further proceedings in accordance with this opinion.

BACKGROUND

Plaintiff-Appellant Maria Tejada was born in the Dominican Republic on October 10, 1935, and came to the United States in September 1988. The record shows that she is unable to communicate in English, that she can speak but cannot read or write Spanish, and that she has never attended school. Tejada's last job, which she held from 1990-1992, was as an assembly worker on a car parts assembly line. Tejada's position required her to stand for most of her eight-hour work day, to perform frequent bending and reaching, and occasionally to lift up to ten pounds. Appellant stopped working on December 5, 1992, because of her disability and because her daughter was in a coma.

The record below reveals that at the time of her initial application, Tejada had multiple health problems, including diabetes, from which she suffered for over 15 years. Tejada's diabetes was unpredictable and difficult to manage; in fact, she was once taken to the hospital in an ambulance because her blood sugar dropped to alarming levels. Her precarious situation forced the William Ryan Community Health Center, one of Tejada's treating facilities, to adjusted her insulin dosage several times over a three-year period (1991-1994). The Ryan Center diagnosed Tejada as having diabetes mellitus with peripheral neuropathy in November 1993. A podiatrist confirmed the diagnosis of diabetes mellitus in October 1994. In late 1994, the Ryan Center discontinued Tejada's insulin treatment and replaced it with Micronase, a medication used in the treatment of non-insulin dependent diabetes mellitus. Also, in late 1994, another doctor of the Ryan Center diagnosed Tejada with diabetic neuropathy.

Tejada's other disabling complaints included weakness, dizziness, fatigue, stomach bloating, pains in her chest, increased size of her thyroid, arthritis pain in her back, knees, hands and shoulders, hypertension, worsening vision, depression, and leg edema. Her frequent headaches and dizzy spells required her to lie down for several hours at a time. The cramping, pain, and swelling in her legs required her to keep her legs in water for at least one hour per day and to keep them elevated 2-3 hours per day. Pain relievers afforded no relief. On May 3, 1994, Tejada saw a podiatrist who diagnosed osteoarthritis.

Tejada applied for SSI benefits on August 5, 1993, six months after she stopped working, stating that she had been unable to work because of her diabetes, which caused dizziness, and her high blood pressure. The Commissioner denied her initial application, and Tejada requested a hearing for reconsideration stating "I am still disabled and unable to work due to [high blood pressure], diabetes and also depression problems." The hearing took place on December 6, 1994. Tejada appeared at the hearing with her daughter and was represented by a law graduate. The Administrative Law Judge ("ALJ") agreed to hold the record open for two more weeks after the hearing, for the submission of additional medical evidence. Tejada's representative submitted a letter of argument as well as sixty-four pages of additional medical evidence from appellant's treating clinic.

The ALJ found that Tejada has "severe hypertension, diabetes mellitus, incipient cataracts On May 23, 1996, Tejada commenced a pro se action in district court. After the Commissioner filed an answer along with a certified transcript of the hearing, Tejada moved for judgment on the pleadings to reverse the Commissioner's denial of benefits and to remand the action for further administrative proceedings. The Commissioner cross-moved for judgment on the pleadings and for dismissal of the complaint.

                internal hemorrhoids and arthralgia."   Nevertheless, on February 11, 1995, the ALJ denied appellant's SSI application.  Tejada requested review before the Commissioner's Appeals Council, which denied review on March 1, 1996.  The decision of the ALJ, therefore, became the final decision of the Commissioner
                

Magistrate Judge Peck recommended that the Commissioner's motion be granted, after determining that there was substantial evidence to support the ALJ's decision. On February 2, 1998, Judge Stein affirmed the Report and Recommendation by summary order and entered judgment for the Commissioner. ¹ Tejada filed this appeal on March 11, 1998.

Tejada argues that the ALJ erred in concluding that she was able to return to her past employment. Specifically, Tejada asserts that the ALJ's description of the requirements of her former employment was ambiguous and was not supported by substantial evidence. Tejada further alleges that the ALJ failed to consider most of the medical records she submitted.

DISCUSSION

The Supplemental Security Income Act defines disability as the inability "to engage in any substantial gainful activity by reason of any medically determinable physical or mental impairment ... which has lasted or can be expected to last for a continuous period of not less than twelve months." 42 U.S.C. § 1382c(a)(3)(A) (1994). To qualify for SSI benefits, ² the disability must be the result of an anatomical, physiological or psychological abnormality demonstrable by medically acceptable clinical and laboratory diagnostic techniques. See id. § 1382c(a)(3)(C) (1994).

When reviewing the Commissioner's denial of disability benefits, this Court's " 'focus is not so much on the district court's ruling as it is on the administrative ruling.' " Schaal v. Apfel, 134 F.3d 496, 500-01 (2d Cir.1998) (quoting Rivera v. Sullivan, 923 F.2d 964, 967 (2d Cir.1991)). First, the Court reviews the Commissioner's decision to determine whether the Commissioner applied the correct legal standard. See Johnson v. Bowen, 817 F.2d 983, 986 (2d Cir.1987) (holding that the Court must first review the ALJ's decision for correct legal principles before applying the substantial evidence standard to uphold a finding of no disability); see also Townley v. Heckler, 748 F.2d 109, 112 (2d Cir.1984) ("Failure to apply the correct legal standards is grounds for reversal.").

Next, the Court examines the record to determine if the Commissioner's conclusions are supported by substantial evidence. See Townley, 748 F.2d at 112 ("It is not the function of a reviewing court to determine de novo whether a claimant is disabled. The [Commissioner's] findings of fact, if supported by substantial evidence, are binding."). Substantial evidence is " 'more than a mere scintilla. It means such relevant evidence as a reasonable mind might accept as adequate to support a conclusion.' " Richardson v. Perales, 402 U.S. 389, 401, 91 S.Ct. 1420, 28 L.Ed.2d 842 (1971) (quoting Consolidated Edison Co. v. NLRB, 305 U.S. 197, 229, 59 S.Ct. 206, 83 L.Ed. 126 (1938)). The Court carefully considers the whole record, examining evidence from both sides " 'because an analysis of the substantiality of the evidence must also include that which detracts from its weight.' " Quinones v. Chater, 117 F.3d 29, 33 (2d Cir.1997) (quoting Williams v. Bowen, 859 F.2d 255, 258 (2d Cir.1988)).

This Court has described the five-step process through which the Commissioner makes a determination as follows: First, the Commissioner considers whether the claimant is currently engaged in substantial gainful activity. Where the claimant is not, the Commissioner next considers whether the claimant has a "severe impairment" that significantly limits her physical or mental ability to do basic work activities. If the claimant suffers such an impairment, the third inquiry is whether, based solely on medical evidence, the claimant has an impairment that is listed in 20 C.F.R. pt. 404, subpt. P, app. 1. If the claimant has a listed impairment, the Commissioner will consider the claimant disabled without considering vocational factors such as age, education, and work experience; the Commissioner presumes that a claimant who is afflicted with a listed impairment is unable to perform substantial gainful activity. Assuming the claimant does not have a listed impairment, the fourth inquiry is whether, despite the claimant's severe impairment, she has the residual functional capacity ³ to perform her past work. Finally, if the claimant is unable to perform her past work, the burden then shifts to the Commissioner to determine whether there is other work which the claimant could perform. See Balsamo v. Chater, 142 F.3d 75, 79-80 (2d.Cir.1998).

Here, the ALJ found that Tejada was not performing substantial gainful activity and that her condition constituted a severe impairment (although...