DONETTA W. AMBROSE, Senior District Judge.
Plaintiff filed an application for disability insurance benefits and supplemental social security income, alleging disability due to various impairments. His claim was denied initially, and upon hearing by an Administrative Law Judge ("ALJ"). The Appeals Council denied his request for review. Before the Court are the parties Cross-Motions for Summary Judgment, relating only to the ALJ's assessment of Plaintiff's physical impairments. For the following reasons, Plaintiff's Motion will be denied, and Defendant's granted.
Judicial review of the Commissioner's final decisions on disability claims is provided by statute. 42 U.S.C. §§ 405(g) 6, 1383(c)(3)7. Section 405(g) permits a district court to review the transcripts and records upon which a determination of the Commissioner is based, and the court will review the record as a whole.
A district court cannot conduct a
Plaintiff argues that the ALJ improperly evaluated the opinion of Dr. Richardson, a treating cardiologist; improperly considered his activities of daily living as "significant"; unreasonably afforded great weight to the state agency non-examining consultant;
An ALJ must provide sufficient explanation of his or her final determination to provide a reviewing court with the benefit of the factual basis underlying the ultimate disability finding.
Here, the ALJ afforded "some weight" to Dr. Richardson's opinion. In so doing, the ALJ discussed Dr. Richardson's 2012 opinion. He noted that the 2012 opinion related to Plaintiff's ability to perform his then-most-recent construction job, which is generally characterized as heavy exertion. As for Dr. Richardson's February, 2013 opinion that Plaintiff was disabled, the ALJ noted that the limitation to sedentary work was not inconsistent with the evidence; indeed, that limitation was included in the residual functional capacity assessment ("RFC"). The ALJ then noted the lack of record evidence supporting Dr. Richardson's 2013 opinion that Plaintiff could sit for only four hours, and stand/walk for only one hour, in a workday.
In the Opinion, the ALJ noted Plaintiff's improvement in these and other aspects of cardiac health in May, 2013 and July, 2013. Further, the ALJ gave significant weight to the June, 2012 opinion of the state agency consultant, who, different from Dr. Richardson, concluded that Plaintiff was capable of performing light exertional work. The ALJ found this opinion supported, especially given Plaintiff's improvement with treatment and his activities of daily living. Nevertheless, he adopted Dr. Richardson's sedentary limitation. Such a limitation, generally speaking, may accommodate fatigue.
As for Plaintiff's activities of daily living, Plaintiff takes issue with the ALJ's terming those activities "significant." However, the word "significant" alone was not determinative of the ALJ's decision. Instead, it is apparent that the ALJ considered all of Plaintiff's activities, including hobbies, and recounted the manner and frequency of those activities. When considering Plaintiff's credibility, the ALJ adequately stated the reasons for his decision. Given the deference to be afforded the ALJ's credibility determination, I find no error in this regard.
In sum, I find no error in the ALJ's decision. Plaintiff's Motion will be denied, and Defendant's granted. An appropriate Order follows.
AND NOW, this 8th day of October, 2015, it is hereby ORDERED, ADJUDGED, and DECREED that Plaintiff's Motion is DENIED, and Defendant's GRANTED.