United States District Court, E.D. Arkansas, Western Division
STEVEN L. FARRIS PLAINTIFF
v.
SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION DEFENDANT
RECOMMENDED DISPOSITION
The
following Recommended Disposition
(“Recommendation”) has been sent to United States
District Judge D.P. Marshall Jr. You may file written
objections to all or part of this Recommendation. If you do
so, those objections must: (1) specifically explain the
factual and/or legal basis for your objections; and (2) be
received by the Clerk of this Court within fourteen (14) days
of this Recommendation. By not objecting, you may waive the
right to appeal questions of fact.
I.
Introduction:
Plaintiff,
Steven L. Farris, applied for disability benefits on February
18, 2015, alleging a disability onset date of February 4,
2011.[1] (Tr. at 11). The application was denied
initially and upon reconsideration Id. After
conducting a hearing, the Administrative Law Judge
(“ALJ”) denied Mr. Farris's claim. (Tr. at
22). The Appeals Council denied his request for review. (Tr.
at 1). The ALJ's decision now stands as the final
decision of the Commissioner, and Mr. Farris has requested
judicial review. For the reasons stated below, the Court
should affirm the decision of the Commissioner.
II.
The Commissioner=s Decision:
The ALJ
found that Mr. Farris had not engaged in substantial gainful
activity since the amended alleged onset date of February 18,
2015. (Tr. at 13). At Step Two of the sequential five-step
analysis, the ALJ found that Mr. Farris had the following
severe impairments: history of myocardial infarction; heart
palpitations; a hernia repair; removal of appendix, gall
bladder, and spleen, and one third of stomach; degenerative
disc disease; diabetes mellitus; and obesity. Id.
The ALJ
found that Mr. Farris's impairment did not meet or equal
a listed impairment. (Tr. at 14). Before proceeding
to Step Four, the ALJ determined that Mr. Farris had the
residual functional capacity (“RFC”) to perform
work at the light level, but reaching and handling were
limited to frequently, or two thirds of the day. (Tr. at
16).
The ALJ
next found that Mr. Farris was unable to perform his past
relevant work. (Tr. at 19). The ALJ relied on the testimony
of a Vocational Expert ("VE") to find that,
considering Mr. Farris's age, education, work experience
and RFC, jobs existed in significant numbers in the national
economy that he could perform. (Tr. at 21). Therefore, the
ALJ found that Mr. Farris was not disabled. Id.
III.
Discussion:
A.
Standard of Review
The
Court's function on review is to determine whether the
Commissioner's decision is supported by substantial
evidence on the record as a whole and whether it is based on
legal error. Miller v. Colvin, 784 F.3d 472, 477
(8th Cir. 2015); see also 42 U.S.C. § 405(g).
While “substantial evidence” is that which a
reasonable mind might accept as adequate to support a
conclusion, “substantial evidence on the record as a
whole” requires a court to engage in a more
scrutinizing analysis:
“[O]ur review is more than an examination of the record
for the existence of substantial evidence in support of the
Commissioner's decision; we also take into account
whatever in the record fairly detracts from that
decision.” Reversal is not warranted, however,
“merely because substantial evidence would have
supported an opposite decision.”
Reed v. Barnhart, 399 F.3d 917, 920 (8th Cir. 2005)
(citations omitted).
It is
not the task of this Court to review the evidence and make an
independent decision. Neither is it to reverse the decision
of the ALJ because there is evidence in the record which
contradicts his findings. The test is whether there is
substantial evidence in the record as a whole which supports
the decision of the ALJ. Miller, 784 F.3d at 477.
The Court has ...