___________ No. 95-2700

___________ Oscar Leon Smith, * * Appellant, * * Appeal from the United States v. * District Court for the * Eastern District of Arkansas. Shirley S. Chater, * Commissioner of the Social * [UNPUBLISHED] Security Administration, * * Appellee. *

___________ Submitted: January 12, 1996 Filed: April 8, 1996

___________ Before RICHARD S. ARN OLD, Chief Judge, JOHN R. GIBSON and BOWMAN, Circuit Judges.

___________ PER CURIAM.

Oscar Smith applied for Social Security disability insurance an d Sup plemental Security Income benefits, alleging disability because o f problems with his back, shoulders and knees. His application was denied initially and on reco nsideration, and Smith requested a hearing before an Administra tive Law Judge (ALJ). The ALJ concluded that Smith was no t disabled, finding tha t Smith had a partial amputation of the right thumb, hyper tension and borderline intellectual function, but that suc h limitations did not p reclude Smith from performing his past relevant work as a sani tation worker. After the Appeals Council denied review of th e ALJ's decision, Smith sought review by the District Court. Both

### The Honorab le Jerry Cavaneau, United States Magistrate Judge 1 

### for the Eastern District of Arkansas, sitting by consent of th e parties pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 636(c).

Som atoform disorder is a condition in which there ar e 2 

### "physical symptoms for which no physical cause can be found, an d for which there is definite or strong evidence that the underlying cause is psychological." One such somatoform disorder i s hypochondriasis. The AmericanMedical Association Encyclopedia of Medicine 923 (1989). -2- parties filed motions for summary judgment. The District Court grante d 1 summaryjudgment in favor of the Commissioner, concluding that there was su bstantial evidence to support the ALJ's determination that Smith' s all eged disability would not prevent him from returning to his previou s employment as a sanitation worker. Specifically , the District Court found compelling the testimony of Dr. Vance Crane, who concluded that Smith coul d performa ny and all types of work. In addition, the District Cour t rejected Smith's contention that his thumb impairment was disabling, notin g that Smith had worked for several years as a sanitation worker after his thumb was amputated without any worsening of his condition. On appeal, Smith argues that the Dis trict Court erred in determining that the ALJ's decision denying his benefits is supported by substantial evidence. Smith contends the medical evidence clearly establishes a menta l impairment , and that his amputated thumb and somatoform disorder qualify 2 as additional and sig nificant work-related limitations that have rendered him disabled and unable to return to his past wo rk as a sanitation worker.
After careful review of the record a nd the arguments of the parties, we conclu de that no error of law appears and that the decision of th e Co mmissioner denying disability benefits is supported by substantia l eviden ce on the record as a whole. Concluding also that an extende d opinion by this Court would lack precedential value, we affirm the judgmen t of the District Court on

### -3-

the basis of its thorough and well-reasoned memorandum opinion. See 8th Cir. R. 47B.
A true copy.

Attest:
CLERK, U. S. COURT OF APPEALS, EIGHTH CIRCUIT.