United States District Court, W.D. Arkansas, Fort Smith Division
MEMORANDUM OPINION
HON.
BARRY A. BRYANT U.S. MAGISTRATE JUDGE
Elizabeth
Smith, (“Plaintiff”) brings this action pursuant
to § 205(g) of Title II of the Social Security Act
(“The Act”), 42 U.S.C. § 405(g) (2010),
seeking judicial review of a final decision of the
Commissioner of the Social Security Administration
(“SSA”) denying her applications for Disability
Insurance Benefits (“DIB”) and Supplemental
Security Income (“SSI”) under Titles II and XVI
of the Act.
The
Parties have consented to the jurisdiction of a magistrate
judge to conduct any and all proceedings in this case,
including conducting the trial, ordering the entry of a final
judgment, and conducting all post-judgment proceedings. ECF
No. 7. Pursuant to this authority, the Court issues this
memorandum opinion and orders the entry of a final judgment
in this matter.
1.
Background:
Plaintiff
protectively filed her application for DIB on August 15, 2014
and SSI on September 8, 2014. (Tr. 344). In this application,
Plaintiff alleges being disabled due to diabetes, arthritis,
left arm pain, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol.
(Tr. 597). These applications were denied initially and again
upon reconsideration. (Tr. 344). Thereafter, Plaintiff
requested an administrative hearing, and that hearing request
was granted. (Tr. 443-444).
Plaintiff's
administrative hearing was held on October 13, 2015. (Tr.
25-56). At this hearing, Plaintiff was present and was
represented by counsel, James Miners. Id. Plaintiff
and Vocational Expert (“VE”) Montie Lumpkin
testified at the hearing. Id. At the time of the
hearing, Plaintiff was fifty (50) years old and had a tenth
grade education. (Tr. 366).
Following
the hearing, on November 18, 2016, the ALJ entered an
unfavorable decision denying Plaintiff's applications for
DIB and SSI. (Tr. 344-355). In this decision, the ALJ found
Plaintiff met the insured status requirements of the Act
through June 30, 2017. (Tr. 346, Finding 1). The ALJ also
determined Plaintiff had not engaged in Substantial Gainful
Activity (“SGA”) since June 1, 2014. (Tr. 346,
Finding 2).
The ALJ
found Plaintiff had the following severe impairments:
diabetes mellitus, mild osteoarthritis of the bilateral
knees, hypertension and obesity. (Tr. 346, Finding 3).
Despite being severe, the ALJ determined those impairments
did not meet or medically equal the requirements of any of
the Listings of Impairments in Appendix 1 to Subpart P of
Regulations No. 4 (“Listings”). (Tr. 347, Finding
4).
In this
decision, the ALJ evaluated Plaintiff's subjective
complaints and determined her RFC. (Tr. 347, Finding 5).
First, the ALJ evaluated Plaintiff's subjective
complaints and found her claimed limitations were not
entirely credible. Id. Second, the ALJ determined
Plaintiff retained the RFC to perform light work, with the
following exceptions, she can only occasionally climb ramps
and stairs, she can never climb ladders, ropes and scaffolds;
she could only occasionally balance, stoop, kneel, crouch and
crawl; and she must avoid concentrated exposure to hazards,
including no driving as a part of work. Id.
The ALJ
then evaluated Plaintiff's Past Relevant Work
(“PRW”). (Tr. 353, Finding 6). The ALJ determined
Plaintiff was capable of performing her PRW as a cashier.
Id. Based upon this finding, the ALJ determined
Plaintiff had not been under a disability, as defined in the
Act, from, June 1, 2014, through the date of the decision.
(Tr. 355, Finding 7).
Thereafter,
Plaintiff requested the Appeals Council's review of the
ALJ's decision. (Tr. 497). The Appeals Council denied
this request for review. (Tr. 1-7). On November 28, 2017,
Plaintiff filed the present appeal. ECF No. 1. Both Parties
have filed appeal briefs. ECF Nos. 16, 17. This case is now
ready for decision.
2.Applicable
Law:
It is
well-established that a claimant for Social Security
disability benefits has the burden of proving his or her
disability by establishing a physical or mental disability
that lasted at least one year and that prevents him or her
from engaging in any substantial gainful activity. See
Cox v. Apfel, 160 F.3d 1203, 1206 (8th Cir. 1998); 42
U.S.C. §§ 423(d)(1)(A), 1382c(a)(3)(A). The Act
defines a “physical or mental impairment” as
“an impairment that results from anatomical,
physiological, or psychological abnormalities which are
demonstrable by medically acceptable clinical and laboratory
diagnostic techniques.” 42 U.S.C. §§
423(d)(3), 1382(3)(c). A plaintiff must show that his or her
disability, not simply his or her impairment, has lasted for
at least twelve consecutive months. See 42 U.S.C.
§ 423(d)(1)(A).
To
determine whether the adult claimant suffers from a
disability, the Commissioner uses the familiar five-step
sequential evaluation. He determines: (1) whether the
claimant is presently engaged in a “substantial gainful
activity”; (2) whether the claimant has a severe
impairment that significantly limits the claimant's
physical or mental ability to perform basic work activities;
(3) whether the claimant has an impairment that meets or
equals a presumptively disabling impairment listed in the
regulations (if so, the claimant is disabled without regard
to age, education, and work experience); (4) whether the
claimant has the Residual Functional Capacity (RFC) to
perform his or her past relevant work; and (5) if the
claimant cannot perform the past work, the burden shifts to
the Commissioner to prove that there are other jobs in the
national economy that the claimant can perform. See
Cox, 160 F.3d at 1206; 20 C.F.R. ...