Williams v. Colvin
| Decision Date | 23 February 2016 |
| Docket Number | Civil Action No. 14-cv-01984-NYW |
| Parties | SHANNON WILLIAMS, Plaintiff, v. CAROLYN W. COLVIN, Acting Commissioner of Social Security, Defendant. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — District of Colorado |
This civil action comes before the court pursuant to Titles II and XVI of the Social Security Act ("Act"), 42 U.S.C. §§ 401-33 and 1381-83(c) for review of the Acting Commissioner of Social Security's final decision denying Plaintiff, Shannon Williams's, application for Disability Insurance Benefits ("DIB") and Supplemental Security Income ("SSI"). Pursuant to the Order of Reference dated July 9, 2015 [#21], this civil action was referred to the Magistrate Judge for a decision on the merits pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 636(c), Fed. R. Civ. P. 73, and D.C.COLO.LCivR 72.2. [#42]. The court has carefully considered the Complaint filed July 17, 2014 [#1], Defendant's Answer filed January 20, 2015 [#9], Plaintiff's Opening Brief filed March 30, 2015 [#13], Defendant's Response Brief filed April 22, 2015 [#16], the entire case file, the administrative record, and applicable case law. For the following reasons, I AFFIRM the Commissioner's decision.
Plaintiff Shannon Williams ("Plaintiff" or "Ms. Williams") filed an application for DIB under Title II of the Act and an application for SSI under Title XVI of the Act on November 30, 2011, alleging that she became disabled on August 1, 2010. See [#10-2 at 46].1 These claims were initially denied on March 21, 2012, and Plaintiff requested a hearing before an administrative law judge. [#10-2 at 41, 46]. Ms. Williams appeared before Administrative Law Judge William Musseman ("ALJ") on January 25, 2013. [#10-2 at 70-104]. The ALJ issued an unfavorable decision on February 11, 2013, finding that Ms. Williams had not been disabled from the alleged date of the onset of disability through the date of his decision. [#10-2 at 43-59]. On April 15, 2013, Plaintiff filed a "Request for Review of Hearing Decision," which the Appeals Council denied on May 13, 2014. [#10-2 at 2]. Ms. Williams thereafter timely filed this civil action.
In the Adult Disability Report, Ms. Williams represented that she had obtained her GED and the ALJ determined that she has "at least a high school education and is able to communicate in English." [#10-6 at 16; #10-2 at 58]. The ALJ initially found that Plaintiff met the insured status requirements of the Act through December 31, 2015 and that she had not engaged in substantial gainful activity since August 1, 2010, the alleged onset date. [#10-2 at 48].
At the administrative hearing, at which she was represented by counsel, Plaintiff testified that she suffers from a seizure disorder, bipolar disorder, and back problems. [#10-2 at 74]. With regard to her back pain, she stated she feels stiffness in her lower back that prevents her from bending over easily, she cannot stand for long periods of time, she cannot sit for longperiods of time, and she cannot sleep on her right side. [#10-2 at 74-75]. Plaintiff further stated that she has difficulty driving her car because she experiences "shooting pains in [her] lower back" and down her left leg when she stretches to depress the clutch. [#10-2 at 75]. Plaintiff testified that this sharp pain "would come and go," and that she "constantly had an ache in [her] back though." [#10-2 at 76]. The shoots of pain varied from "several times a day" to "every other day," depending on Plaintiff's activity. [#10-2 at 77]. Lying on her right side, driving her car, and standing to wash dishes exacerbated the pain. [Id.] Plaintiff testified that generally, standing in excess of fifteen minutes and sitting in excess of twenty-five minutes cause her significant pain. [#10-2 at 77-78]. However, Plaintiff also testified that she had received a spinal fusion on November 15, 2012 that was a success "[f]or the most part," but "caused a different complication at that time." [#10-2 at 78]. Following the spinal fusion, she could sleep on her right side and stand for approximately twenty-five minutes, but could not sit for any longer than twenty-five minutes. [#10-2 at 79]. Prior to the surgery, Plaintiff was able to lift her four-year old daughter on "a good day," which totaled approximately three days each month. Following the surgery, she could not lift her daughter at all. [#10-2 at 80-81]. Rails are installed around Plaintiff's commode in her home, which her daughter uses to pull herself out of the bathtub. [#10-2 at 82]. Also following the surgery, Plaintiff participated in three physical therapy sessions, received epidural steroid injections, and was taking a muscle relaxer. [#10-2 at 91]. At the time of the hearing, Plaintiff was using Vicodin, Flexeril, and Neurontin. [#10-2 at 92]. She complained that the surgery left her with significant pain in her left foot, which interferes with her ability to walk and causes her to lean on her right foot when standing. [Id.]
Plaintiff also testified that she suffers, on average, twenty-five seizures a month; one seizure may last a matter of minutes, but she has "episodes" along with the seizures which maylast up to an hour and during which she may lose consciousness. [#10-2 at 83-84]. After a seizure towards the end of 2011 that left her unconscious in a parking lot, she was transported by an ambulance to Memorial North Hospital. [#10-2 at 86]. Plaintiff nonetheless continues to drive a car, though "[i]t concerns [her]." [#10-2 at 87]. She does not leave the house if she has had a seizure that day, and she has friends and a roommate whom she asks to drive her if she must leave her house. [#10-2 at 87-88]. Plaintiff has also sought treatment for bipolar disorder, which she described at the hearing as "more of a manic thing than a depressive thing," and which causes her to hallucinate. [#10-2 at 89]. She testified that she uses medicine to treat the disorder but could not recall the name of the medicine, and she suffers memory loss as a result of using it. [#10-2 at 93-94]. At one point, when she began to hallucinate she checked herself into a facility overnight. [#10-2 at 89-90]. Plaintiff also endured headaches that abated after she began taking Lamictal and Gabapentin. [#10-2 at 95]. Finally, Plaintiff testified that her roommate takes care of her daughter when she is in the hospital or another facility overnight. Her roommate contributes heavily to the cooking and cleaning in the home, though Plaintiff has begun to cook since the spinal fusion surgery. [#10-2 at 91].
Robert Van Iverstein testified as a vocational expert ("VE"). The ALJ first asked the VE to provide the exertional and skill level involved in Plaintiff's previous work. The VE responded that the following jobs were commensurate with Plaintiff's work history: dining room attendant; waitress; child care attendant; production assembly position in candy-company; ticket agent; security person for casino; and manager in fast food restaurant. [#10-2 at 99]. The ALJ then posed the following hypothetical question: would an individual of Plaintiff's age and educational background be able to perform the forgoing jobs if she is "limited to an exertional level and a full range of sedentary, non-exertionally [sic], occasional bending, squatting, occasional leg or footcontrols, no unprotected heights, no moving machinery, and no hazardous work areas." [#10-2 at 99-100]. The VE responded in the negative on the basis that the foregoing jobs "are all light [exertion] and above." [#10-2 at 100]. In response to the ALJ's question whether any job would be compatible with the hypothetical worker, the VE suggested the following sedentary positions: telequotation (phonetic) clerk; surveillance systems monitor; and a credit checker or call out operator. [#10-2 at 100-101]. The ALJ then asked whether positions in the economy exist for a hypothetical worker who, "based on an inability to be attentive to task for unpredictable periods of time on an unpredictable basis on an almost daily basis, and inability, due to pain, to be at the workplace all or part of a day...25 days out of a month." [#10-2 at 101]. The VE reported that no competitive employment is available to such a hypothetical worker. [Id.] In response to questioning by Plaintiff's attorney, the VE stated that a person who needs to leave work early more than two times a month because of unpredicted seizure activity would likely be terminated from any job; and a person who experienced a seizure that incapacitated her for five or six minutes, two or three times a month for several months would be unable to sustain employment. [#10-2 at 102-103].
The ALJ issued his written decision on February 11, 2013, concluding that Ms. Williams has not been disabled within the meaning of the Act "from August 1, 2010 through the date of this decision." [#10-2 at 46]. Plaintiff requested review of the ALJ's decision and submitted new evidence, which the Appeals Council incorporated into the record: representative correspondence, with contentions, dated April 21, 2014; medical records from Peak Vista Community Health Centers, dated January 3, 2012 through January 24, 2013; medical records from Peak Vista Community Health Centers, dated February 15, 2013 through May 23, 2013; and medical records from Memorial Health System Radiology and Imaging Department, datedJuly 26, 2013. [#10-2 at 6; #10-6 at 65-69; #10-16 at 75-93; #10-17 at 2-37, 38]. The Appeals Council denied Plaintiff's request on May 13, 2014. [#10-2 at 2-5]. The decision of the ALJ then became the final decision of the Commissioner. 20 C.F.R. § 404.981; Nielson v. Sullivan, 992 F.2d 1118, 1119 (10th Cir. 1993) (citation omitted). Plaintiff filed this action on July 17, 2014. The court has jurisdiction to review the final decision of the Commissioner. 42 U.S.C. § 405(g).
In reviewing the Commissioner's final decision, the court is limited to determining...
To continue reading
Request your trial