ALAN N. BLOCH, District Judge.
AND NOW, this 26
Therefore, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that Plaintiff's Motion for Summary Judgment (Doc. No. 9) is DENIED and Defendant's Motion for Summary Judgment (Doc. No. 11) is GRANTED.
First, the Court finds no merit in Plaintiff's contention regarding the ALJ's decision not to give controlling weight to the opinion evidence provided by treating physician John P. Scullin, M.D. (R. 379-81). It is well-established that "[t]he ALJ—not treating or examining physicians or State agency consultants—must make the ultimate disability and RFC determinations."
The Court notes that the opinion of Dr. Scullin is provided on a form that was simply filled out by the doctor, and consists of options to check and blanks to be filled in by hand. (R. 379-81). The Third Circuit Court of Appeals has stated that "[f]orm reports in which a physician's obligation is only to check a box or fill in a blank are weak evidence at best."
Additionally, the Court finds that the ALJ sufficiently explained his reasons for giving Dr. Scullin's opinion less than controlling weight in his analysis. The ALJ did not fail to provide sufficient reasons for discounting Dr. Scullin's opinion, nor did he simply substitute his own lay analysis for the judgment of Dr. Scullin in formulating Plaintiff's RFC. Rather, the ALJ fulfilled his duty as fact-finder to evaluate Dr. Scullin's opinion, considering a number of factors, and in light of all the evidence presented in the record.
In fact, the ALJ ultimately gave little weight to Dr. Scullin's opinion, finding that the evidence of record does not support a conclusion that the limitations contained therein applied before Plaintiff's hip surgery, and also finding that the evidence does not support a conclusion that such limitations would persist for 12 months post-surgery. (R. 26). In his explanation, the ALJ explained the weight that he was giving to Dr. Scullin's opinion only after engaging in an extensive discussion of the evidence of record, including Plaintiff's treatment records and other objective medical evidence, his reported symptoms, and discussion of his activities and change in symptoms over time as well as his recent surgery and recovery therefrom. (R. 15-26). Specifically, on September 2, 2016, less than three months after he had performed hip replacement surgery on Plaintiff, Dr. Scullin opined that Plaintiff "would be limited from full-time work at even the sedentary level, with an ability to sit, stand, and walk less than eight-hours total in a day, and he would be off-tasks or need to change positions frequently throughout the day." (R. 25, 379-81). Plaintiff argues that the ALJ should have adopted those limitations in formulating his RFC.
"Disability" is defined under the Social Security Act as an inability to engage in any substantial gainful activity by reason of any medically determinable physical or mental impairment that can be expected to result in death or
Further, the ALJ also found that Dr. Scullin's opinion is not supportive of an expectation that Plaintiff's impairment "will persist for 12-consecutive months going forward." (R. 26). The ALJ noted that, at the time of his hearing, Plaintiff "reported only a routine follow-up appointment scheduled for December, and as of examinations in August 2016, [Plaintiff] was described as presenting without distress and with no gross strength deficits or instability, no notable restrictions of motion, and intact sensation." (R. 26). As noted,
To the extent that Plaintiff wishes to argue more generally that the ALJ's decision is not based on the evidence of record, the Court also disagrees. The ALJ engaged in extensive discussion of the medical record and relied on a great deal of specific evidence to reach his conclusions, including the medical opinion of Dr. Kar, who found that Plaintiff could perform a range of sedentary work with certain postural and environmental limitations. (R. 70-83, 84-96). The ALJ discussed Dr. Kar's opinion at length and gave that opinion some weight to the extent that it supports a finding that the evidence available at the time of his opinion did not indicate Plaintiff was precluded from performing regular and continuous work. (R. 25). However, the ALJ afforded Dr. Kar's opinion lesser weight to the extent that he found that it did not include additional restrictions appropriate to accommodate Plaintiff's other issues. (R. 25). The ALJ also relied on other evidence in making his determination, including the fact that Plaintiff was repeatedly found to be in no distress at many of his examinations; that Plaintiff was referred to physical therapy but did not attend; and that in early 2016 Plaintiff reported using a cane but had only a moderately antalgic gait, a mildly limited range of motion, no decrease in sensation and no weakness. (R. 22-25). Thus, the ALJ ultimately found that the evidence of record did not show that Plaintiff had significant enough limitations before his surgery to support a more restrictive finding—nor did the evidence show that Plaintiff's recovery was likely to persist long enough after surgery—to support a more restrictive finding.
Plaintiff also briefly contends that the ALJ engaged in impermissible conjecture in finding that Plaintiff would not be disabled long enough into the future to qualify for benefits. As discussed,
Finally, Plaintiff asserts that the ALJ erred in giving Dr. Scullin's opinion little weight without relying on contradictory medical evidence. However, as discussed,
Therefore, the Court concludes that the ALJ sufficiently considered the opinion of Dr. Scullin in his decision, and finds that the ALJ did not err in giving Dr. Scullin's opinion little weight in this case.
Second, Plaintiff asserts that the ALJ erred in finding that Plaintiff's impairments do not meet the severity of Listings 1.02 or 1.03 at Step Three of the sequential analysis. In his decision, the ALJ explained that Plaintiff's impairments had been evaluated under Listings 1.02 (Major dysfunction of a joint) and 1.03 (Reconstructive surgery or surgical arthrodesis of a major weight-bearing joint). (R. 16). Upon review of the relevant evidence of record, however, the ALJ found that, although Plaintiff had surgery on his hip for osteoarthritis and imaging documented mild degenerative findings in his knee, "the record fails to document an inability to ambulate effectively for any 12-consecutive month period." (R. 16).
First, the Court notes that the Listings operate as a regulatory device used to streamline the decision-making process by identifying claimants whose impairments are so severe that they may be presumed to be disabled.
Listings 1.02 and 1.03 share a common requirement which appears to be the finding in question here, namely that a claimant must demonstrate an "inability to ambulate effectively." 20 C.F.R. Pt. 404, Subpt. P, App. 1, §§ 1.02(A), 1.03. The regulations define the inability to ambulate effectively as "an extreme limitation of the ability to walk, i.e., an impairment(s) that interferes very seriously with the individual's ability to independently initiate, sustain, or complete activities. . . . having insufficient lower extremity functioning . . . to permit independent ambulation without the use of a hand-held assistive device(s) that limits the functioning of both upper extremities." 20 C.F.R. Part 404, subpart P, Appendix 1, § 1.00(B)(2)(b).
Plaintiff contends here that he meets this requirement of Listing 1.02 because he had "difficulty walking for over a year from January 2015 through March 2016." (Doc. No. 10, at 14). He also asserts that he meets this requirement of Listing 1.03 because, at the time of his hearing which was less than 3 months after his hip surgery, he continued to need a walker to ambulate, and there was no reason to believe that the rest of Plaintiff's recovery would be complete within 12 months. (Doc. No. 10, at 15).
However, as the ALJ discussed in his decision, clearly and in detail, there was no evidence to show that Plaintiff was—or would be—unable to ambulate effectively for any consecutive 12 month period. (R. 17). The ALJ explained that, prior to Plaintiff's 2016 surgery, his records document limitations in ambulation, but they do not reflect limitations rising to the level of an inability to ambulate effectively. (R. 17). The ALJ then reviewed and discussed Plaintiff's ambulation issues as revealed in the record since the onset date of June 2014, and continuing through Plaintiff's most recent visit of record in which he was described as "doing well" post-surgery. (R. 17). Finally, the ALJ explained that, since his surgery, Plaintiff has been described as using a walker, "but since this was not an issue prior to his surgery and, with reasonable treatment, this would not be expected to be his longitudinal functional level, it cannot be found persuasive in establishing listing level severity or otherwise in establishing limitations more restrictive than adopted." (R. 17). Therefore, because the ALJ reasonably concluded that Plaintiff did not show that he was unable to ambulate effectively, as defined in the Act, the Court finds that the ALJ did not err in failing to find that Plaintiff did not meet a Listing.
As to any additional arguments mentioned summarily by Plaintiff in his brief, the Court finds that he has failed to establish how the ALJ's failure to consider properly any additional evidence of record constitutes reversible error.
In sum, after careful review of the record, the Court finds that substantial evidence supports the ALJ's evaluation of Dr. Scullin's opinion and his decision as to the weight given to that opinion in making his ultimate determination regarding Plaintiff's RFC. The ALJ addressed the relevant evidence in the record and he thoroughly discussed the basis for his RFC finding. Additionally, the Court finds that the ALJ did not err in finding that Plaintiff did not meet or medically equal the requirements of the Listings. Accordingly, the Court affirms.