P. BRADLEY MURRAY, Magistrate Judge.
Plaintiff Rita V. Blackmon brings this action, pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 405(g), seeking judicial review of a final decision of the Commissioner of Social Security denying her claim for a period of disability and disability insurance benefits. The parties have consented to the exercise of jurisdiction by the Magistrate Judge, pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 636(c), for all proceedings in this Court. (Docs. 15 & 17 ("In accordance with the provisions of 28 U.S.C. 636(c) and Fed.R.Civ.P. 73, the parties in this case consent to have a United States Magistrate Judge conduct any and all proceedings in this case, . . . order the entry of a final judgment, and conduct all post-judgment proceedings.")). Upon consideration of the administrative record, Plaintiff's brief, the Commissioner's brief, and the parties' arguments at the July 17, 2018 hearing before the undersigned, the Court concludes that the Commissioner's decision denying benefits should be affirmed.
Plaintiff protectively filed an application for a period of disability and disability insurance benefits on July 21, 2014, alleging disability beginning on December 11, 2013. (See Tr. 187-88.) Blackmon's claim was initially denied on November 12, 2014 (Tr. 75 & 95-100) and, following Plaintiff's January 5, 2015 written request for a hearing before an Administrative Law Judge ("ALJ") (see Tr. 101-02), hearings were conducted before an ALJ on May 17, 2016 (Tr. 45-56) and November 10, 2016 (Tr. 36-44). On December 8, 2016, the ALJ issued a decision finding that the claimant was not disabled and, therefore, not entitled to a period of disability and disability insurance benefits. (Tr. 17-31.) More specifically, the ALJ proceeded to the fifth step of the five-step sequential evaluation process and determined that Blackmon retains the residual functional capacity to perform those sedentary jobs identified by the vocational expert ("VE") during the administrative hearing (compare id. at 30 with Tr. 42-43). On January 11, 2017, the Plaintiff appealed the ALJ's unfavorable decision to the Appeals Council (Tr. 186); the Appeals Council denied Blackmon's request for review on November 2, 2017 (Tr. 1-3). Thus, the hearing decision became the final decision of the Commissioner of Social Security.
Plaintiff alleges disability due to diabetes with neuropathy, obesity, depression and panic attacks. The Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) made the following relevant findings:
(Tr. 20, 22, 29 & 30 (emphasis in original)).
In all Social Security cases, an ALJ utilizes a five-step sequential evaluation
Watkins v. Commissioner of Social Sec., 457 Fed. Appx. 868, 870 (11th Cir. Feb. 9, 2012)
The task for the Magistrate Judge is to determine whether the Commissioner's decision to deny claimant benefits, on the basis that she can perform those sedentary jobs identified by the VE during the administrative hearing, is supported by substantial evidence. Substantial evidence is defined as more than a scintilla and means such relevant evidence as a reasonable mind might accept as adequate to support a conclusion. Richardson v. Perales, 402 U.S. 389, 91 S.Ct. 1420, 28 L.Ed.2d 842 (1971). "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 [Commissioner's] decision." Chester v. Bowen, 792 F.2d 129, 131 (11th Cir. 1986).
On appeal to this Court, Blackmon asserts two reasons the Commissioner's decision to deny her benefits is in error (i.e., not supported by substantial evidence): (1) the ALJ committed reversible error in failing to assign controlling weight to the RFC opinion of her treating physician, Dr. Christopher Jenkins, and instead adopting his own medical opinion; and (2) the ALJ committed reversible in that his RFC determination at the fifth step of the sequential evaluation process is not supported by substantial evidence. Since Plaintiff's first assignment of error has import with respect to the ALJ's RFC determination, the undersigned considers all of Plaintiff's assignment of errors under the larger "umbrella" of the ALJ's RFC determination.
The responsibility for making the residual functional capacity determination rests with the ALJ. Compare 20 C.F.R. § 404.1546(c) ("If your case is at the administrative law judge hearing level . . ., the administrative law judge . . . is responsible for assessing your residual functional capacity.") with, e.g., Packer v. Commissioner, Social Security Admin., 542 Fed. Appx. 890, 891-892 (11th Cir. Oct. 29, 2013) (per curiam) ("An RFC determination is an assessment, based on all relevant evidence, of a claimant's remaining ability to do work despite her impairments. There is no rigid requirement that the ALJ specifically refer to every piece of evidence, so long as the ALJ's decision is not a broad rejection, i.e., where the ALJ does not provide enough reasoning for a reviewing court to conclude that the ALJ considered the claimant's medical condition as a whole." (internal citation omitted)). A plaintiff's RFC—which "includes physical abilities, such as sitting, standing or walking, and mental abilities, such as the ability to understand, remember and carry out instructions or to respond appropriately to supervision, co-workers and work pressure[]"—"is a[n] [] assessment of what the claimant can do in a work setting despite any mental, physical or environmental limitations caused by the claimant's impairments and related symptoms." Watkins v. Commissioner of Social Security, 457 Fed. Appx. 868, 870 n.5 (11th Cir. Feb. 9, 2012) (citing 20 C.F.R. §§ 404.1545(a)-(c), 416.945(a)-(c)); see also 20 C.F.R. § 404.1545(a)(3) (in assessing RFC, the Commissioner is required to consider "descriptions and observations of [the claimant's] limitations from [] impairments, including limitations that result from [] symptoms, such as pain, provided by [the claimant]. . . .").
To find that an ALJ's RFC determination is supported by substantial evidence, it must be shown that the ALJ has "`provide[d] a sufficient rationale to link'" substantial record evidence "`to the legal conclusions reached.'" Ricks v. Astrue, 2012 WL 1020428, *9 (M.D. Fla. Mar. 27, 2012) (quoting Russ v. Barnhart, 363 F.Supp.2d 1345, 1347 (M.D. Fla. 2005)); compare id. with Packer v. Astrue, 2013 WL 593497, *4 (S.D. Ala. Feb. 14, 2013) ("`[T]he ALJ must link the RFC assessment to specific evidence in the record bearing upon the claimant's ability to perform the physical, mental, sensory, and other requirements of work.'"), aff'd, 542 Fed. Appx. 890 (11th Cir. Oct. 29, 2013); see also Hanna v. Astrue, 395 Fed. Appx. 634, 636 (11th Cir. Sept. 9, 2010) (per curiam) ("The ALJ must state the grounds for his decision with clarity to enable us to conduct meaningful review. . . . Absent such explanation, it is unclear whether substantial evidence supported the ALJ's findings; and the decision does not provide a meaningful basis upon which we can review [a plaintiff's] case." (internal citation omitted)).
In this case, the Court finds that the ALJ linked his RFC assessment—that is, sedentary work with some mental limitations—to specific evidence in the record bearing upon Blackmon's ability to perform the physical, mental, sensory and other requirements of work. (Compare Tr. 22-29 with generally Tr. 88-90, 214-16, 280-91, 295-300, 302, 305-08, 316, 322-26, 333-40, 348-51, 354-61, 399-402, 416-24 & 427-37.) In particular, even though the Plaintiff argues that the ALJ erred in failing to accord substantial weight to the opinion of her treating psychiatrist, Dr. Christopher Jenkins, and accorded too much weight to the consultative evaluation of Dr. Aaron Mates, and, as a consequence of both errors, improperly determined that she can perform sedentary work with mild to moderate mental limitations only, this Court finds that the ALJ committed no such errors.
Before addressing the Plaintiff's specific arguments, the undersigned notes that "[w]eighing the opinions and findings of treating, examining, and non-examining physicians is an integral part of the process for determining disability." Kahle v. Commissioner of Social Security, 845 F.Supp.2d 1262, 1271 (M.D. Fla. 2012). In particular, "the ALJ must give the opinion of the treating physician `Ssubstantial or considerable weight unless "good cause" is shown to the contrary.'" Williams v. Astrue, 2014 WL 185258, *6 (N.D. Ala. Jan. 15, 2014), quoting Phillips, supra, 357 F.3d at 1240 (other citation omitted); see Nyberg v. Commissioner of Social Security, 179 Fed.Appx. 589, 591 (11th Cir. May 2, 2006) (citing to same language from Crawford v. Commissioner of Social Security, 363 F.3d 1155, 1159 (11th Cir. 2004)).
Gilabert v. Commissioner of Social Sec., 396 Fed.Appx. 652, 655 (11th Cir. Sept. 21, 2010) (per curiam).
Dr. Christopher Jenkins, a psychiatrist who initially treated Blackmon beginning on October 7, 2002 and then began treating her again on April 16, 2015 after a four-year cessation in treatment (see Tr. 338), completed a Mental Residual Functional Capacity questionnaire on February 8, 2016 on which he indicated that Plaintiff had a moderate restriction of activities of daily living, marked difficulty in maintaining social functioning, constant deficiencies in concentration, persistence and pace, and had experienced 4 or more episodes of decompensation in work or work-like settings causing her to withdraw from that situation or experience exacerbation of signs or symptoms for a period of at least 2 weeks (Tr. 341). In addition, Dr. Jenkins specifically noted on the form that Blackmon would experience the following limitations in her ability to perform the following activities on a sustained basis in a routine work setting: (1) marked limitations in (a) understanding, carrying out and remembering instructions, (b) responding appropriately to supervision, (c) responding appropriately to coworkers, (d) responding appropriately to customary work pressures, (e) performing simple tasks, and (f) and performing repetitive tasks; and (2) extreme limitations in the ability to complete work-related activities in a normal workday or workweek. (Tr. 341-42.) And although this form, in bold print, requested an explanation of limitation ratings of moderate or greater in the Comments section (see Tr. 341), Dr. Jenkins did not provide any explanation regarding his marked and extreme ratings (see Tr. 342). In addition, while Dr. Jenkins indicated that the noted limitations had lasted or could be expected to last for 12 months or longer, he did not indicate the earliest date to which the limitations applied. (See id.) Finally, Dr. Jenkins indicated that a psychological evaluation was not obtained on the date he completed the form. (See id.)
The ALJ accorded little weight to Dr. Jenkins's mental assessment because, "for the reasons" set forth in this section of his decision, it was "inconsistent with the evidence[.]" (Tr. 28.) Given the contents of the ALJ's prior discussion (see Tr. 22-28), it is clear that the ALJ accorded little weight to Dr. Jenkins's February 8, 2016 mental RFC assessment on the basis that it was both inconsistent with the other evidence (including, medical evidence) of record as well as with Dr. Jenkins's own medical records (compare id. with Tr. 28 (ALJ's weighing of Dr. Jenkins's mental assessment)). For her part, Plaintiff argues that the ALJ erred to reversal in failing to accord controlling weight to Dr. Jenkins's mental RFC assessment because that assessment is, in fact, consistent with the medical evidence of record, and, along the way, contends that the ALJ accorded too much weight to the opinions of consultative examiners Dr. John Davis and Dr. Jack Carney.
The Court begins its analysis by observing that the ALJ's finding that Dr. Jenkins's mental RFC assessment was "inconsistent with the evidence" (Tr. 28), which as previously indicated means inconsistent with all evidence of record (inclusive of all the medical—that provided by Dr. Jenkins and all other medical providers—and other evidence of record), if accurate, constitutes a valid reason (or reasons) for failing to accord Dr. Jenkins's mental RFC assessment controlling weight. See Gilabert, supra, 396 Fed.Appx. at 655 (recognizing that good cause for rejecting a treating physician's opinion include that the opinion is inconsistent with the doctor's own medical records, the opinion is not bolstered by the evidence, and that the evidence supports a contrary finding). In this case, the undersigned disagrees with Plaintiff's view of the evidence and finds that the ALJ's decision to accord Dr. Jenkins's mental RFC assessment little weight is supported by substantial evidence of record. First, Dr. Jenkins's own treatment records do not support the marked and extreme limitations reflected on the mental RFC form,
In addition, the remaining medical and non-medical evidence of record is consistent with Dr. Jenkins's examination findings, as opposed to the opinions reflected on the mental RFC assessment, and likewise serve as a proper basis for the ALJ to accord less than controlling weight to the treating psychiatrist's RFC assessment. On October 2, 2014, Dr. John Davis, a clinical psychologist, evaluated Blackmon and reported the following on mental status examination: (1) overall satisfactory general appearance and behavior; (2) no abnormalities of speech; (3) mood and affect reflected some anxiety and depression but she did have the capacity for a full range of emotional qualities, with emotional responses being appropriate to thought, content, and situation; (4) she was oriented to person, place and time; (5) no indications of deficits in overall concentration or attention; (6) no indications of deficits in remote, recent or immediate memory; (7) an adequate fund of information; (8) abstract thoughts appeared intact; (9) no loose associations, tangential or circumstantial thinking; (10) no indications of hallucinations or delusions; (11) fair judgment and insight; and (12) normal relationships with her family and peers. (Tr. 288-90.) Dr. Davis concluded that Plaintiff's ability to understand, remember and carry out simple instructions, and to make judgments on simple work-related decisions, is mildly impaired; and that her ability to interact appropriately with the public, co-workers and supervisors, as well as respond appropriately to usual work situations and to changes in a routine work setting, is moderately impaired. (Tr. 291.) This consultative examination from Dr. Davis is consistent with the examination findings of Dr. Jenkins
In light of the foregoing, the Court finds that good cause existed for the ALJ to not accord controlling weight to the mental RFC assessment completed by Dr. Jenkins. See Hunter v. Social Sec. Admin., Commissioner, 808 F.3d 818, 823 (11th Cir. 2015) ("We will not second guess the ALJ about the weight the treating physician's opinion deserves so long as he articulates a specific justification for it."), cert. denied, 136 S.Ct. 2487, 195 L.Ed.2d 823 (2016). Finally, any suggestion by Plaintiff that the ALJ improperly substituted his own opinion for that of Dr. Jenkins is belied by the record, a record which establishes good cause for the ALJ's failure to assign controlling weight to Dr. Jenkins's mental RFC assessment, while at the same time supplying substantial evidence to support the ALJ's mental RFC determination. Stated somewhat differently, this Court finds that "the ALJ did not `play doctor' in assessing [Plaintiff's] RFC, but instead properly carried out his regulatory role as an adjudicator responsible for assessing [Plaintiff's] RFC." Castle v. Colvin, 557 Fed.Appx. 849, 853 (11th Cir. Feb. 18, 2014) (citation omitted).
Turning to Plaintiff's other assignment of error, it is clear that Blackmon stakes the position that the ALJ not only erred with respect to respect to her mental RFC but, as well, improperly concluded that she retains the physical RFC to perform sedentary work. (See Doc. 9, at 6-10.) In particular, Plaintiff takes aim at Dr. Aaron Mates' consultative report and RFC assessment dated June 18, 2016, contending that both are inconsistent with the other evidence in the record documenting her diabetic neuropathy problems, particularly the consultative examination and report of Dr. Brandon Taylor. (See id. at 9-10.)
It is clear that "[a]lthough a sedentary job is defined as one which involves sitting, a certain amount of walking and standing is often necessary in carrying out job duties. Jobs are sedentary if walking and standing are required occasionally and other sedentary criteria are met." 20 C.F.R. § 404.1567(a). Indeed, "[s]ince being on one's feet is required `occasionally' at the sedentary level of exertion, periods of standing or walking should generally total no more than about 2 hours of an 8-hour workday, and sitting should generally total approximately 6 hours of an 8-hour workday." SSR 83-10. And while there is certainly evidence in the record reflecting that Plaintiff, at times, has experienced an abnormal and neuropathic gait and, as a consequence, has had difficulty in performing certain actions related to walking, squatting, bending, etc. (compare Tr. 324-26 ("The claimant ambulates with difficulty, but she is able to do so without an assistive device. The claimant is able to get up and out of the chair without difficulty. The claimant is able to get on and off the examination table without difficulty. Gait is abnormal and markedly neuropathic. . . . The claimant was able to walk on the toes. The claimant was not able to walk on the heels. The claimant had difficulty squatting. The claimant had difficulty doing tandem heel walk. [P]oor balance and poor proprioception noted on exam. The claimant had difficulty bending over and touching her toes. . . . The claimant exhibited normal mentation. Motor strength was 5/5 in all extremities. The Claimant did not have muscle atrophy. Sensation was normal, decreased sensation to light touch B feet in SPN/DPN/Saphenous nerves. The claimant had difficulty doing finger-to-nose with both hand(s)[,] poor proprioception of finger to nose.") with, e.g., Tr. 277 (decreased sensation to light touch in lateral thighs and legs) and Tr. 280-81, 285, 361 (neuropathy noted)), there are also notations in the record referencing a normal gait (see, e.g., Tr. 306 ("Normal ambulatory status.") & Tr. 435 ("Gait is normal.")), and normal strength and range of motion, with no swelling or tenderness (see, e.g., Tr. 297, 307, 400 & 436-37).
More importantly, while Dr. Taylor certainly concluded that Plaintiff's neuropathy "causes her to have limitations with standing or walking long periods of time[,]" (Tr. 326), he also concluded that Blackmon was limited to "standing occasionally in an 8[-]hour work day[]" and "walking occasionally in an 8[-]hour work day[,]" (id.), with occasionally being defined as "very little up to 1/3 total of a[n] 8[-]hour work day[.]" (Id.) And since the full range of sedentary work can be accomplished with occasional walking and standing, compare 20 C.F.R. § 404.1567(a) with SSR 83-10, the evidence from Dr. Taylor, either alone (Tr. 322-27) or combined with all other evidence of record (compare id. with 276-85, 295-308, 399-414 & 427-37), clearly supports the ALJ's RFC determination that "
Given that Blackmon's assignments of error are properly overruled and Plaintiff does not challenge the VE's identification of sedentary jobs an individual with the residual functional capacity reflected in the decision can perform (compare Doc. 9 with Tr. 22, 30 & 42-43), the Commissioner's fifth-step determination is due to be affirmed. See, e.g., Owens v. Commissioner of Social Security, 508 Fed.Appx. 881, 883 (11th Cir. Jan. 28, 2013) ("The final step asks whether there are significant numbers of jobs in the national economy that the claimant can perform, given h[er] RFC, age, education, and work experience. The Commissioner bears the burden at step five to show the existence of such jobs . . . [and one] avenue[] by which the ALJ may determine [that] a claimant has the ability to adjust to other work in the national economy . . . [is] by the use of a VE[.]"(internal citations omitted)); Land v. Commissioner of Social Security, 494 Fed.Appx. 47, 50 (11th Cir. Oct. 26, 2012) ("At step five . . . `the burden shifts to the Commissioner to show the existence of other jobs in the national economy which, given the claimant's impairments, the claimant can perform.' The ALJ may rely solely on the testimony of a VE to meet this burden." (internal citations omitted)). In short, substantial evidence supports the ALJ's determination that Blackmon was not disabled.
It is