Filed: Oct. 28, 2020
Latest Update: Oct. 28, 2020
Summary: FILED NOT FOR PUBLICATION OCT 28 2020 UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS MOLLY C. DWYER, CLERK U.S. COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT SHANEE MARIE HAIRSTON, No. 19-16900 Plaintiff-Appellant, D.C. No. 3:18-cv-02809-RS v. MEMORANDUM* ANDREW M. SAUL, Commissioner of Social Security, Defendant-Appellee. Appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern District of California Richard Seeborg, District Judge, Presiding Submitted October 23, 2020** San Francisco, California Before: HAWKINS
Summary: FILED NOT FOR PUBLICATION OCT 28 2020 UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS MOLLY C. DWYER, CLERK U.S. COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT SHANEE MARIE HAIRSTON, No. 19-16900 Plaintiff-Appellant, D.C. No. 3:18-cv-02809-RS v. MEMORANDUM* ANDREW M. SAUL, Commissioner of Social Security, Defendant-Appellee. Appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern District of California Richard Seeborg, District Judge, Presiding Submitted October 23, 2020** San Francisco, California Before: HAWKINS,..
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FILED
NOT FOR PUBLICATION
OCT 28 2020
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS MOLLY C. DWYER, CLERK
U.S. COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT
SHANEE MARIE HAIRSTON, No. 19-16900
Plaintiff-Appellant, D.C. No. 3:18-cv-02809-RS
v.
MEMORANDUM*
ANDREW M. SAUL, Commissioner of
Social Security,
Defendant-Appellee.
Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Northern District of California
Richard Seeborg, District Judge, Presiding
Submitted October 23, 2020**
San Francisco, California
Before: HAWKINS, N.R. SMITH, and R. NELSON, Circuit Judges.
Shanee Hairston appeals the district court’s order affirming the
Commissioner of Social Security’s denial of disability benefits. We have
jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1291, and we affirm.
*
This disposition is not appropriate for publication and is not precedent
except as provided by Ninth Circuit Rule 36-3.
**
The panel unanimously concludes this case is suitable for decision
without oral argument. See Fed. R. App. P. 34(a)(2).
“We review the district court’s decision sustaining the [Administrative Law
Judge’s (“ALJ”)] denial of social security benefits de novo and can reverse only if
the ALJ’s findings are based on legal error or are not supported by substantial
evidence in the record.” Attmore v. Colvin,
827 F.3d 872, 875 (9th Cir. 2016).
1. Substantial evidence supports the ALJ’s evaluation of the medical evidence.
The ALJ offered “specific and legitimate reasons that are supported by substantial
evidence in the record” for rejecting Dr. Forman’s and Dr. Tsang’s contradicted
opinions. See Carmickle v. Comm’r, Soc. Sec. Admin.,
533 F.3d 1155, 1164 (9th
Cir. 2008). The ALJ properly found that both opinions were inconsistent with the
record as a whole. 20 C.F.R. § 416.927(c)(4) (“Generally, the more consistent a
medical opinion is with the record as a whole, the more weight we will give to that
medical opinion.”).
Further, the ALJ properly discounted the opinions because they were based
on an impairment that could be effectively controlled with medication. See Warre
v. Comm’r of Soc. Sec. Admin.,
439 F.3d 1001, 1006 (9th Cir. 2006) (“Impairments
that can be controlled effectively with medication are not disabling for the purpose
of determining eligibility for SSI benefits.”).
Additionally, the ALJ properly noted that Dr. Tsang only had three
appointments with Hairston before providing the severe limitations opinion. See 20
2
C.F.R. § 416.927(c)(2)(i) (“Generally, the longer a treating source has treated [the
claimant] and the more times [the claimant] ha[s] been seen by a treating source,
the more weight [the ALJ] will give to the source’s medical opinion.”).
2. The ALJ did not err in discounting Hairston’s testimony, because the ALJ
offered “specific, clear and convincing reasons” supported by substantial evidence.
See Trevizo v. Berryhill,
871 F.3d 664, 678 (9th Cir. 2017) (quoting Garrison v.
Colvin,
759 F.3d 995, 1015 (9th Cir. 2014)).
First, “evidence of ‘conservative treatment’ is sufficient to discount a
claimant’s testimony regarding severity of an impairment.” Parra v. Astrue,
481
F.3d 742, 751 (9th Cir. 2007) (citation omitted). Second, “[c]ontradiction with the
medical record is a sufficient basis for rejecting the claimant’s subjective
testimony.”
Carmickle, 533 F.3d at 1161. Here, the ALJ highlighted various
doctors’ opinions that contradicted Hairston’s subjective claims. See
id.
3. The ALJ did not err by failing to specifically include in the Residual
Functional Capacity (“RFC”) and the hypothetical question to the vocational expert
the finding that Hairston had moderate difficulties in maintaining concentration,
persistence, and pace. We have held that an ALJ is able to adequately capture a
restriction related to concentration, persistence, or pace where the RFC is
consistent with restrictions identified in the medical testimony. Stubbs-Danielson
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v. Astrue,
539 F.3d 1169, 1174 (9th Cir. 2008). Here, the ALJ found that, despite
Hairston’s moderate limitations in concentration, persistence, and pace, she is able
to perform “a full range of work at all exertional levels” with a “limitation to
simple, repetitive tasks and preclusion to public contact.” The limitation to simple
repetitive tasks adequately accounted for Hairston’s moderate limitations in
concentration, persistence, and pace. See
id.
Additionally, this finding is supported by the medical evidence. The State
agency non-examining psychologist, Dr. Hawkins, concluded that Hairston could
perform simple, repetitive tasks, despite her moderate limitations in concentration,
persistence, and pace. Further, as detailed above, the ALJ did not err in its analysis
of the medical evidence leading to the determination that Hairston could perform
simple repetitive tasks.
4. The ALJ’s RFC and step-five findings are supported by substantial evidence,
because the ALJ reasonably weighed the record evidence and reasonably
accounted for all of Hairston’s limitations. Hairston’s arguments to the contrary are
simply derivative of her preceding arguments addressed and rejected above. Thus,
Hairston’s arguments fail. See
id. at 1175–76.
AFFIRMED.
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