Robert E. Blackburn, United States District Judge.
The matter before me is plaintiff's Complaint
Plaintiff alleges that she is disabled as a result of degenerative disc disease of the cervical spine, asthma, a cognitive disorder related to a traumatic brain injury, anxiety disorder, and mood disorder. After her application for disability insurance benefits was denied, plaintiff requested a hearing before an administrative law judge. Following a hearing and adverse determination, the Appeals Council remanded the case for additional development of the record. A second hearing was held on December 16, 2010. At the time of this hearing, plaintiff was 49 years old. She has an eleventh grade education and past relevant work experience as a real estate broker and manicurist. She has not engaged in substantial gainful activity since August 1, 2005, her alleged date of onset.
The ALJ found that plaintiff was not disabled and therefore not entitled to disability insurance benefits. Although the evidence established that plaintiff suffered from severe impairments, the judge concluded that the severity of those impairments did not meet or equal any impairment listed in the social security regulations. The ALJ found that plaintiff had the residual functional capacity to perform "sedentary light" work with further postural, manipulative, environmental, and non-exertional limitations. Although this determination precluded plaintiff's past relevant work, the ALJ concluded that there were other jobs existing in significant numbers in the national and local economies that she could perform. The ALJ therefore found plaintiff not disabled at step five of the sequential evaluation. Plaintiff appealed this decision to the Appeals Council. The Council affirmed. Plaintiff then filed this action in federal court.
A person is disabled within the meaning of the Social Security Act only if her physical and/or mental impairments preclude her from performing both her previous work and any other "substantial gainful work which exists in the national economy." 42 U.S.C. § 423(d)(2). "When a claimant has one or more severe impairments the Social Security [Act] requires the [Commissioner] to consider the combined effects of the impairments in making a disability determination." Campbell v. Bowen, 822 F.2d 1518, 1521 (10th Cir.1987) (citing 42 U.S.C. § 423(d)(2)(C)). However, the mere existence of a severe impairment or combination of impairments does not require a finding that an individual is disabled within the meaning of the Social Security Act. To be disabling, the claimant's condition must be so functionally limiting as to preclude any substantial gainful activity for at least twelve consecutive months. See Kelley v. Chater, 62 F.3d 335, 338 (10th Cir.1995).
The Commissioner has established a five-step sequential evaluation
20 C.F.R. § 404.1520(b)-(f). See also Williams v. Bowen 844 F.2d 748, 750-52 (10th Cir.1988). The claimant has the initial burden of establishing a disability in the first four steps of this analysis. Bowen v. Yuckert, 482 U.S. 137, 146 n. 5, 107 S.Ct. 2287, 2294 n. 5, 96 L.Ed.2d 119 (1987). The burden then shifts to the Commissioner to show that the claimant is capable of performing work in the national economy. Id. A finding that the claimant is disabled or not disabled at any point in the five-step review is conclusive and terminates the analysis. Casias v. Secretary of Health & Human Services, 933 F.2d 799, 801 (10th Cir.1991).
Review of the Commissioner's disability decision is limited to determining whether the ALJ applied the correct legal standard and whether the decision is supported by substantial evidence. Hamilton v. Secretary of Health and Human Services, 961 F.2d 1495, 1497-98 (10th Cir. 1992); Brown v. Sullivan, 912 F.2d 1194, 1196 (10th Cir.1990). Substantial evidence is evidence a reasonable mind would accept as adequate to support a conclusion. Brown, 912 F.2d at 1196. It requires more than a scintilla but less than a preponderance of the evidence. Hedstrom v. Sullivan, 783 F.Supp. 553, 556 (D.Colo. 1992). "Evidence is not substantial if it is overwhelmed by other evidence in the record or constitutes mere conclusion." Musgrave v. Sullivan, 966 F.2d 1371, 1374 (10th Cir.1992). Further, "if the ALJ failed to apply the correct legal test, there is a ground for reversal apart from a lack of substantial evidence." Thompson v. Sullivan, 987 F.2d 1482, 1487 (10th Cir. 1993). Although a reviewing court should meticulously examine the record, it may not reweigh the evidence or substitute its discretion for that of the Commissioner. Id.
Plaintiff claims the ALJ's residual functional capacity assessment is not supported by substantial evidence, that the ALJ failed to properly weigh the various medical source opinions of record, and that he improperly discredited her subjective reports of pain and limitation. Finding no such reversible error in the ALJ's decision, I affirm.
Plaintiff first argues that the ALJ's residual functional capacity assessment is insupportable because it failed to consider the combined impact of all her
20 C.F.R. § 404.1523.
Plaintiff maintains that the ALJ failed to consider the impact of additional impairments supported by the evidence, specifically, chronic pain, chronic headaches, fatigue, problems with her vestibular balance, visual tracking problems, and panic attacks.
Relatedly, plaintiff suggests the ALJ failed to apply the required test for assessing her complaints of pain. The Tenth Circuit has outlined a tripartite test for evaluating subjective complaints of pain:
Musgrave, 966 F.2d at 1375-76 (citing Luna v. Bowen, 834 F.2d 161, 163-64 (10th Cir.1987)). Nevertheless, "credibility determinations `are peculiarly the province of the finder of fact,' and should not be upset if supported by substantial evidence." White v. Barnhart, 287 F.3d 903, 909 (10th Cir.2001) (citing Kepler v. Chater, 68 F.3d 387, 390-91 (10th Cir.1995)). So long as the ALJ links his credibility assessment to specific evidence in the record, his determination is entitled to substantial deference. Id. at 910; see also Qualls v. Apfel, 206 F.3d 1368, 1372 (10th Cir.2000).
Contrary to plaintiff's suggestion, the ALJ did not consider only plaintiff's hearing testimony in assessing her credibility. Instead, he compared her testimony to the objective medical and other evidence of record, noting that objective tests revealed minimal physical findings. Moreover, he determined that "the medical record as a whole reflects improvement" since plaintiff's alleged date of onset, and specifically recounted the evidence of record that supported that determination. (Tr. 40-45.) Although there is no doubt that plaintiff continues suffer from pain and other effects of her impairments, "disability requires more than mere inability to work without pain." Brown v. Bowen, 801 F.2d 361, 362-63 (10th Cir.1986) (citation and internal quotation marks omitted); see also Qantu v. Barnhart, 72 Fed.Appx. 807, 811 (10th Cir.2003) ("We emphasize that a claimant's inability to work pain-free, standing alone, is not sufficient reason to find her disabled."). The ALJ gave good reasons, specifically tied to the evidence of record, for discrediting plaintiff's subjective complaints and his determination therefore is entitled to deference. Thus, remand is not warranted on this basis either.
Lastly, plaintiff argues that the ALJ erred in the manner in which he weighed the various medical source opinions of record. Specifically, she maintains that the ALJ failed to give good reasons for accepting the opinion of the medical expert who testified at the hearing, Dr. John F. Simonds, over that of her treating sources, Dr. Barry Alexander, a psychologist,
The opinion of a treating source is entitled to controlling weight when it is "well-supported by medically acceptable clinical and laboratory diagnostic techniques and is not inconsistent with other substantial evidence in the case record." 20 C.F.R. § 404.1527(c)(2); see also Watkins v. Barnhart, 350 F.3d 1297, 1300 (10th Cir.2003). A treating source opinion cannot be rejected absent good cause for specific and legitimate reasons clearly articulated in the hearing decision. Watkins, 350 F.3d at 1301. Good cause may be found where the treating source's opinion is brief, conclusory, or unsupported by the medical evidence. Frey v. Bowen, 816 F.2d 508, 513 (10th Cir.1987).
The ALJ here gave "minimal" weight to both Dr. Parry's physical residual functional capacity assessment (Tr. 793-798)
Similarly, I perceive no reversible error in the ALJ's determination to afford the greatest weight to the medical expert, Dr. Simonds. Despite the deference usually afforded treating source opinions, they are not sacrosanct, and "[i]n appropriate circumstances, opinions from State agency medical and psychological consultants and other program physicians and psychologists may be entitled to greater weight than the opinions of treating or examining sources." Social Security Ruling 96-6p, 1996 WL 374180 at *3 (SSA July 2, 1996). The ALJ noted properly that Dr. Simonds had the benefit of reviewing the entirety of the medical record, including the treating source assessments, and the ALJ found his opinion to be the most consistent with the evidence. (Tr. 45.) This determination was supported by the ALJ's citation to and analysis of the record, which is borne out by my own review of the evidence. While there is no question but that the evidence in this case, which was voluminous, could have been interpreted differently, ultimately, the ALJ properly fulfilled his role to resolve conflicts in the evidence. See Reyes v. Bowen, 845 F.2d 242, 245 (10th Cir.1988); Gleason v. Apfel, 1999 WL 714172 at *4 (D.Kan. Sept. 1, 1999). "The substantial-evidence standard does not allow [the court] to displace the agencies' choice between two fairly conflicting views, even though the court would justifiably have made a different choice had the matter been before it de novo." Lax v. Astrue, 489 F.3d 1080, 1088 (10th Cir.2007) (citation and internal quotation marks omitted). For these reasons, I find and conclude that the disability determination must be affirmed.
Dated March 17, 2014, at Denver, Colorado.
20 C.F.R. § 404.1527(c)(2)-(6). Contrary to plaintiff's argument, however, the ALJ is not required to discuss each of these factors as a litany. See Mestas v. Astrue, 2010 WL 3604395 at *3 (D.Colo. Sept. 7, 2010). The ALJ's suggestion that he considered all factors is sufficient to substantiate the conclusion that he discharged his responsibility in this regard, at least insofar as the record suggests no reason to dispute that assertion. See Cox, 2000 WL 1472729 at *8.
