Los v. Comm'r
| Decision Date | 13 September 2018 |
| Docket Number | CIVIL ACTION FILE NO. 1:17-CV-01774-AJB |
| Parties | ERRICA L., Plaintiff, v. COMMISSIONER, SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION, Defendant. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Northern District of Georgia |
Plaintiff brought this action pursuant to § 1631(c) of the Social Security Act ("the Act"), 42 U.S.C. § 1383(c)(3), to obtain judicial review of the final decision of the Commissioner of the Social Security Administration ("the Commissioner") denyingher application for Supplemental Security Income ("SSI").3 For the reasons set forth below, the final decision of the Commissioner is REVERSED and REMANDED to the Commissioner for further consideration of Plaintiff's claims.
On June 24, 2013, Plaintiff protectively filed an application for Title XVI SSI benefits, [Record (hereinafter "R") 154], claiming a disability onset date of June 1, 2011, [id.], as orally amended to June 24, 2013. [R54]. Plaintiff alleged that she was disabled due to bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, and psychosis. [R188]. Her claims were denied initially and on reconsideration. [R80, 90]. Plaintiff requested a hearing and, on February 5, 2016, testified at a hearing before an Administrative Law Judge("ALJ"), where she was represented by an attorney and a vocational expert ("VE") also testified. [R40, 104]. On June 14, 2016, the ALJ found Plaintiff not disabled. [R18]. Plaintiff sought review by the Appeals Council, which on April 4, 2017, denied review, making the ALJ's decision the final agency decision. [R1-6].
Plaintiff sought judicial review of the Commissioner's decision by initiating this action on May 16, 2017. [Docs. 1, 3]. The answer and transcript were filed on October 6, 2017. [Docs. 6, 7]. On December 4, 2017, Plaintiff filed a brief seeking reversal of the Commissioner's decision, [Doc. 9], and on February 5, 2018, the Commissioner filed a response in support of the decision, [Doc. 10], to which Plaintiff filed a reply, [Doc. 14]. The matter is now before the Court upon the administrative record, and the parties' pleadings and briefs,4 and is accordingly ripe for review pursuant to 42 U.S.C. §§ 405(g) and 1383(c)(3).
As set forth in Plaintiff's brief, she claims that the ALJ's decision was erroneous because:
[Doc. 9 at 1].
Plaintiff was born in May 1981, making her 32 years old on her alleged onset date. [R46, 70]. She completed the eleventh grade and later received her General Equivalence Degree ("GED"). [R47]. In the past, she worked as a cleaner at a motel and as a self-employed hair braider, but only made $9,697 in her highest earning year. [R47, 50, 63]. She alleged disability due to her mental health. [R188].
Plaintiff testified before the ALJ that she lived with her three minor sons and that they shared in the household tasks like cooking, cleaning, and grocery shopping. [R55]. She testified that, since her alleged onset date, she has received food stamps and her eldest son's (age 17) disability payments, and that her mother helps her pay rent.[R56-57]. Plaintiff stated that she took Trazodone,5 Setraline6 for her panic episodes, and cyclobenzaprine.7 [R51]. She could not remember if she was ever prescribed other medications during the relevant dates, but stated that the medications made her drowsy ("like a zombie") and that she sometimes had nightmares. [R53]. She has a driver's license and does not necessarily have difficulty driving. [R54-55]. However, Plaintiff explained that she is very careful of dozing off "into my thinking" while driving because she previously did that with her children in the car, drove into oncoming traffic, and avoided a collision only when another car honked. [R55]. Plaintiff confirmed that she walks about a mile a day on the track by herself but will sometimes meet up with her mother to walk. [R57-58]. She stated that she has no friends except a 75-year-old woman. [R58].
Plaintiff acknowledged that when she was hospitalized in May 2013 and tested positive for cocaine and methamphetamines, she was doing drugs. [R53]. She also acknowledged using illegal drugs when hospitalized in September 2013, but was not sure if they were considered methamphetamines. [R53-54]. She testified that she had not used illegal drugs since her September 2013 hospitalization. [R54]. Plaintiff drinks two small glasses of red wine a night. [R57]. She stated that she stopped using cocaine following her May 2013 hospitalization. [R64].
On May 14, 2013, Plaintiff was admitted to the inpatient unit of Tanner Medical Center and placed under close observation after a Form 1013 evaluation8 at the emergency room, where she was taken for increasing agitation and disorganized and psychotic behaviors. [R245]. She claimed that she and her children were in dangerbecause their father "put voodoo roots" on her child and the outcome would be her child's and her own death. [Id.]. She refused to stay in the hospital, demanded discharge, and claimed there was nothing wrong with her. [Id.].
On mental examination, she was found to have increased psychomotor activity, was restless, euphoric, labile, unpredictable, irritated, agitated, incongruent, tangential with loose associations, and had delusional ideations, and her capacity to do activities of daily living was assessed as fair. [R246]. She was diagnosed with bipolar disorder, with the most recent episode severe and manic with psychotic features, and assigned a GAF score9 of 12-15.10 [Id.]. On physical examination, the findings were unremarkable except that her urine toxicology screening was positive for amphetaminesand cocaine. [R248]. She was kept as an in-patient, and prescribed Depakote11 and Risperdal12 at bedtime as well as group therapy. [R243].
On May 15, 2013, her thought processes were found to be tangential, but she had no delusions or hallucinations, and was less anxious, although she refused her nightly Risperdal dose. [Id.]. On May 18, 2013, she took her medications without side effects, continued to participate in group therapy, reported less racing thoughts, and it was concluded that her acute psychosis had resolved with treatment and she was no longer a threat to herself or others. [R244]. On May 18, Plaintiff was discharged with a plan for care that included medication maintenance and an appointment with Progressive Counseling Services ("Progressive") on May 22. [Id.].
On May 30, 2013, Laurie Robison, an LCSW at Progressive, performed a Biopsychosocial Assessment and found Plaintiff oriented to time, person, place, and situation, but that her speech was pressured, her demeanor preoccupied, her thoughtsparanoid and confused, and her judgment impaired. [R253]. She assessed Plaintiff with cocaine dependency, in remission for two weeks, [R256-57, 261], and major depression with psychotic features, as well as psychotic symptoms, [R262]. Treatment goals included remaining clean from a cocaine for one year and being able to admit her own psychiatric symptoms. [R258]. On June 11, 2013, this plan was amended, and Plaintiff was assessed with a GAF of 4713 with deficits in vocational/educational, social/interpersonal, family, community/legal, and financial areas. [R383].
Plaintiff was admitted to Southern Crescent Behavioral Health System on September 3, 2013 for "unstable psychiatric symptoms." [R387]. Dr. Asad Naqvi diagnosed her upon discharge on September 9, 2013 with psychosis NOS and a GAF of 35.14 [Id.].
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