Filed: Aug. 19, 2014
Latest Update: Mar. 02, 2020
Summary: Case: 14-10389 Date Filed: 08/19/2014 Page: 1 of 8 [DO NOT PUBLISH] IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE ELEVENTH CIRCUIT _ No. 14-10389 Non-Argument Calendar _ D.C. Docket No. 5:12-cv-00404-GKS-PRL HAMID MAZUJI, Plaintiff-Appellant, versus COMMISSIONER, SOCIAL SECURITY, Defendant-Appellee. _ Appeal from the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida _ (August 19, 2014) Before HULL, MARCUS, and MARTIN, Circuit Judges. PER CURIAM: Hamid Mazuji, proceeding pro se, app
Summary: Case: 14-10389 Date Filed: 08/19/2014 Page: 1 of 8 [DO NOT PUBLISH] IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE ELEVENTH CIRCUIT _ No. 14-10389 Non-Argument Calendar _ D.C. Docket No. 5:12-cv-00404-GKS-PRL HAMID MAZUJI, Plaintiff-Appellant, versus COMMISSIONER, SOCIAL SECURITY, Defendant-Appellee. _ Appeal from the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida _ (August 19, 2014) Before HULL, MARCUS, and MARTIN, Circuit Judges. PER CURIAM: Hamid Mazuji, proceeding pro se, appe..
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Case: 14-10389 Date Filed: 08/19/2014 Page: 1 of 8
[DO NOT PUBLISH]
IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE ELEVENTH CIRCUIT
________________________
No. 14-10389
Non-Argument Calendar
________________________
D.C. Docket No. 5:12-cv-00404-GKS-PRL
HAMID MAZUJI,
Plaintiff-Appellant,
versus
COMMISSIONER, SOCIAL SECURITY,
Defendant-Appellee.
________________________
Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Middle District of Florida
________________________
(August 19, 2014)
Before HULL, MARCUS, and MARTIN, Circuit Judges.
PER CURIAM:
Hamid Mazuji, proceeding pro se, appeals the district court’s order affirming
the Commissioner of Social Security’s denial of his application for disability
Case: 14-10389 Date Filed: 08/19/2014 Page: 2 of 8
insurance benefits. After reviewing the record and considering the parties’ briefs,
we affirm.
I.
In October 2008, Hamid Mazuji broke his knee and wrist when he was hit by
a motorcycle while riding his bicycle. Due to his injuries, he later filed an
application for disability insurance benefits, which was partially denied. An
Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) found Mazuji was disabled from October 19,
2008, until April 2, 2010. But the ALJ also concluded that by April 2, 2010,
Mazuji experienced medical improvements that allowed him to perform some
sedentary work. Relying on the testimony of a vocational expert, the ALJ found
that the jobs Mazuji was able to perform existed in significant numbers in the
national economy.
Mazuji filed a request for review of the ALJ’s decision with the Appeals
Council, which was denied. He then appealed to federal district court pursuant to
42 U.S.C. § 405(g). The district court affirmed the ALJ’s decision and Mazuji
filed this appeal.
II.
In Social Security appeals, “[w]e review the Commissioner’s decision to
determine if it is supported by substantial evidence and based on proper legal
standards.” Crawford v. Comm’r of Soc. Sec., 363 F.3d 1155, 1158 (11th Cir.
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2004) (quotation marks omitted). “Substantial evidence is more than a scintilla
and is such relevant evidence as a reasonable person would accept as adequate to
support a conclusion.” Lewis v. Callahan, 125 F.3d 1436, 1440 (11th Cir. 1997).
“If the Commissioner’s decision is supported by substantial evidence, this Court
must affirm, even if the proof preponderates against it.” Dyer v. Barnhart,
395
F.3d 1206, 1210 (11th Cir. 2005) (quotation marks omitted). We may not decide
facts anew, reweigh the evidence, or substitute our judgment for that of the
Commissioner.
Id.
III.
Mazuji argues that the ALJ and district court (1) ignored some of his
symptoms and medical conditions; (2) misrepresented his ability to perform tasks
and work due to inaccurate conclusions or omissions about his physical capacity,
the time and energy required for physical therapy, 1 and the effect of his pain
medication; and (3) should not have credited the testimony of the state agency’s
medical consultant, Dr. Peele, or the vocational expert Howard Feldman, who
testified at the hearing. 2
1
As of September 2009, Mazuji’s physical therapy consisted of two 90-minute sessions per
week. The record also shows that, in reaching his ultimate conclusion, the ALJ considered
Mazuji’s claims that his injuries and therapy consume all his time.
2
We construe Mazuji’s brief liberally, as we are required to do. Tannenbaum v. United States,
148 F.3d 1262, 1263 (11th Cir. 1998) (per curiam).
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Mazuji’s briefs focus mostly on describing the difficult, painful, and lengthy
recovery he has had after his bicycle accident. We do not discount his retelling of
his experience. Neither did the ALJ, who found that Mazuji was disabled and
entitled to benefits for the year and a half following the accident. Even after this
time period the ALJ concluded that Mazuji’s condition limited his capacity to work
and prevented him from performing past relevant work. However, based on the
record before us, we must affirm the district court’s finding that the ALJ’s
conclusion—that by April 2010 Mazuji’s condition improved to the point that he
was able to perform some sedentary work that existed within the economy—was
supported by substantial evidence.
A. Medical and Residual Functional Capacity Improvement
To determine whether a claimant’s disability has ceased, the ALJ must
decide whether the claimant has experienced medical improvement in his
condition. 20 C.F.R. § 404.1594(f)(3). Medical improvement is defined as any
decrease in the medical severity of the claimant’s impairment(s) based on changes
in the symptoms, signs, and/or laboratory findings associated with the claimant’s
impairment(s). Id. § 404.1594(b)(1). If the claimant has experienced medical
improvement, the ALJ must determine if the medical improvement relates to the
claimant’s ability to work.
Id. § 404.1594(f)(4). Medical improvement relates to a
claimant’s ability to work if a claimant has had a decrease in the severity of his
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impairment(s) and his residual functional capacity (RFC) has increased. Id.
§ 404.1594(b)(3).
Applying this framework, substantial evidence supports the ALJ’s
conclusion that Mazuji’s impairments and his RFC improved as of April 2, 2010,
and increased his ability to work. After his accident, Mazuji initially had to use a
wheel chair and could not lift with his left arm, put weight on his right leg, or do
any strenuous activity. But by the time of his hearing in front of the ALJ in
September 2010, Mazuji testified that his wrist had “recovered fully.” His knee
had improved to the point that he stopped using an assistive device or crutches to
walk, and he could ride a bike five to ten miles. “[U]nder optimal conditions,” he
could walk a mile to two miles. He was also able to do work on his computer,
attend church, do his own grocery shopping, do his laundry, and clean his
bathroom. 3 Although it initially took him longer, he said he was “getting back to
[his] old times” in terms of the time required to take care of his personal needs.
The last documented medical visit in the record also shows that the doctor
observed “no swelling [or] redness” in Mazuji’s knee, and that Mazuji denied
3
The ALJ is permitted to consider daily activities when evaluating a claimant’s RFC. Macia v.
Bowen, 829 F.2d 1009, 1012 (11th Cir. 1987).
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numbness, burning or tingling in [his] extremities.”4 The doctor also noted Mazuji
was
nontender to palpitation about the lateral, medial anterior and
posterior compartments of the [right] knee. There is no knee effusion.
Ligaments appear to be intact. There is however crepitus 5 upon
passive knee flexion. Strength is preserved.
The doctor recommended only over-the-counter pain medication.
Mazuji points to other evidence that he still has physical challenges and
room for improvement. But overall, substantial evidence supports the ALJ’s
conclusion that by April 2, 2010, Mazuji had experienced significant medical
improvement and an increase in his RFC. Although Mazuji disagrees with the
ALJ’s weighing of some of the evidence, the ALJ’s order gave explicit and
adequate reasons for failing to credit some of Mazuji’s claims. See Foote v.
Chater, 67 F.3d 1553, 1561–62 (11th Cir. 1995) (“If the ALJ decides not to credit a
claimant’s testimony as to her pain, he must articulate explicit and adequate
reasons for doing so.”). Also, to the extent Mazuji is attempting to rely on
evidence outside of the record, he has not made a sufficient showing to warrant a
remand for the Commissioner to consider additional evidence. See Caulder v.
4
These medical records, which the ALJ relied upon, are from one of Mazuji’s treating
physicians, Dr. Kendall Campbell. Although Mazuji challenges the ALJ’s reliance on Dr.
Thomas Peele’s conclusions, the ALJ “grant[ed] [Dr. Peele’s] assessment little weight because it
was rendered by a physician who has never had the opportunity to examine, or even meet with
and question, [Mazuji].”
5
Crepitate means to “to make a cracking sound.” Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary 273
(10th ed. 2000).
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Bowen, 791 F.2d 872, 876–77 (11th Cir. 1986) (noting federal courts do not
examine evidence that was not considered during administrative proceedings
unless claimant establishes that “(1) there is new noncumulative evidence; (2) the
evidence is ‘material,’ that is, relevant and probative so that there is a reasonable
possibility that it would change the administrative result, and (3) there is good
cause for the failure to submit the evidence at the administrative level.”).
B. Ability to Perform Work
Mazuji also challenges the ALJ’s conclusion that there are jobs he could
perform in the national economy, but substantial evidence supports this finding.
The ALJ concluded that Mazuji could perform sedentary work with some
limitations. Sedentary work is characterized by “lifting no more than 10 pounds at
a time and occasionally lifting or carrying articles like docket files, ledgers, and
small tools.” See 20 C.F.R. § 404.1567(a). A sedentary job involves sitting most
of the time with a certain amount of walking and standing to carry out job duties.
Id. As the evidence set forth above shows, Mazuji’s condition improved. This
evidence showing Mazuji’s medical improvement also demonstrates that the ALJ’s
finding regarding Mazuji’s ability to perform sedentary work is supported by
substantial evidence.
Lastly, the ALJ was permitted to rely on the testimony of a vocational expert
to establish that there is work available in significant numbers in the national
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economy that Mazuji has the capacity to perform. Foote, 67 F.3d at 1559 (“The
burden of showing by substantial evidence that a person who can no longer
perform his former job can engage in other substantial gainful activity is in almost
all cases satisfied only through the use of vocational expert testimony.”). The ALJ
relied on vocational expert Dr. Howard Feldman, who was asked to consider a
hypothetical individual with the same age, education, work experience, and RFC as
Mazuji. Dr. Feldman testified that Mazuji could do bench assembly work,
electronic assembly, or work as a toll or ticket taker. Under this Circuit’s law,
Mazuji “must then prove that he is unable to perform [those] jobs.” Doughty v.
Apfel,
245 F.3d 1274, 1278 n.2 (11th Cir. 2001). Mazuji does not offer any
support for his counter arguments that Dr. Feldman is biased, that his testimony is
not based on personal experience of having a similar injury or on statistics of other
individuals with similar injuries, and that he did not review Mazuji’s medical
records. Neither do Mazuji’s arguments show he is unable to perform the jobs Dr.
Feldman identified.
IV.
Because the ALJ’s findings were based on substantial evidence, the district
court’s order is AFFIRMED.
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