Source: http://ks.findacase.com/research/wfrmDocViewer.aspx/xq/fac.20150722_0000699.DKS.htm/qx
Timestamp: 2017-02-25 07:12:49
Document Index: 15518262

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 416', '§ 405', '§ 404', '§ 404', 'art, 466', '§ 404', '§ 404', '§ 404', '§ 404', '§ 404', '§ 404']

HERBERT GERARD JONES, Plaintiff,v.CAROLYN W. COLVIN, Acting Commissioner of Social Security, Defendant.
Plaintiff, proceeding pro se, [1] seeks review of a decision of the Acting Commissioner of Social Security (hereinafter Commissioner) denying Disability Insurance benefits (DIB) under sections 216(i) and 223 of the Social Security Act. 42 U.S.C. §§ 416(i) and 423 (hereinafter the Act). Finding no error, the court ORDERS that judgment shall be entered pursuant to the fourth sentence of 42 U.S.C. § 405(g) AFFIRMING the Commissioner's decision.
Plaintiff applied for DIB benefits, alleging disability beginning June 9, 2010. (R. 18, 147). Plaintiff exhausted proceedings before the Commissioner, and now seeks judicial review of the final decision denying benefits. Plaintiff claims the Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) erred in rejecting the opinion of Ms. Yourdon, the physician's assistant who treated him and provided an opinion regarding his limitations; failed to make specific findings regarding the physical and mental demands of Plaintiff's past relevant work; and failed to conduct a proper credibility analysis.[2]
The Commissioner uses the familiar five-step sequential process to evaluate a claim for disability. 20 C.F.R. § 404.1520; Wilson v. Astrue, 602 F.3d 1136, 1139 (10th Cir. 2010) (citing Williams v. Bowen, 844 F.2d 748, 750 (10th Cir. 1988)). "If a determination can be made at any of the steps that a claimant is or is not disabled, evaluation under a subsequent step is not necessary." Wilson, 602 F.3d at 1139 (quoting Lax, 489 F.3d at 1084). In the first three steps, the Commissioner determines whether claimant has engaged in substantial gainful activity since the alleged onset, whether he has a severe impairment(s), and whether the severity of his impairment(s) meets or equals the severity of any impairment in the Listing of Impairments (20 C.F.R., Pt. 404, Subpt. P, App. 1). Williams, 844 F.2d at 750-51. After evaluating step three, the Commissioner assesses claimant's residual functional capacity (RFC). 20 C.F.R. § 404.1520(e). This assessment is used at both step four and step five of the sequential evaluation process. Id. The Commissioner next evaluates steps four and five of the sequential process- determining at step four whether, in light of the RFC assessed, claimant can perform his past relevant work; and at step five whether, when also considering the vocational factors of age, education, and work experience, claimant is able to perform other work in the economy. Wilson, 602 F.3d at 1139 (quoting Lax, 489 F.3d at 1084). In steps one through four the burden is on Plaintiff to prove a disability that prevents performance of past relevant work. Blea v. Barnhart, 466 F.3d 903, 907 (10th Cir. 2006); accord, Dikeman v. Halter, 245 F.3d 1182, 1184 (10th Cir. 2001); Williams, 844 F.2d at 751 n.2. At step five, the burden shifts to the Commissioner to show that there are jobs in the economy which are within the RFC assessed. Id .; Haddock v. Apfel, 196 F.3d 1084, 1088 (10th Cir. 1999). The ALJ determined at step four that Plaintiff is able to perform his past relevant work. Consequently she did not perform a step five analysis.
The court finds that Plaintiff has shown no error in the Commissioner's decision. It addresses each error alleged in the order presented in Plaintiff's Brief.
II. Evaluation of the Opinion of Christie Yourdon
Plaintiff points out that the ALJ gave only "some weight" to Ms. Yourdon's opinion, including the opinion that Plaintiff must frequently elevate his legs during an 8-hour workday. He notes the vocational expert's (VE) testimony that such a requirement would eliminate competitive employment. He argues that the ALJ erroneously failed to consider the factors for evaluating a physician's assistant's opinion in accordance with Social Security Ruling (SSR) 06-3p, that the ALJ erroneously relied upon her lay interpretation of the medical record, and that she should have recontacted Ms. Yourdon for clarification of her opinion.
The Commissioner argues that the ALJ could have accorded lesser weight to Ms. Yourdon's opinion merely because she is not an "acceptable medical source, " but that the ALJ specifically explained the bases on which she discounted Ms. Yourdon's opinion, and the portions of that opinion which were credited and discounted. And, she argues that the ALJ's findings are supported by the record evidence.
A. Standard for Evaluating "Other" Medical Source Opinions
In accordance with the regulations, an "acceptable medical source" includes only certain named classes of professionals: licensed physicians, licensed or certified psychologists, licensed optometrists, licensed podiatrists, and qualified speech-language pathologists. 20 C.F.R. § 404.1513. Physician's assistants are among another group of health-care providers called "other" medical sources from whom the Commissioner will accept and use evidence showing the severity of a claimant's impairment(s) and how the impairment(s) affects claimant's ability to work. Id . § 404.1513(d). "Medical opinions" are defined as "statements from physicians and psychologists or other acceptable medical sources that reflect judgments about the nature and severity of [claimant's] impairment(s), including [claimant's] symptoms, diagnosis and prognosis, what [claimant] can still do despite impairment(s), and [claimant's] physical or mental restrictions." Id . § 404.1527(a)(2). A "treating source" must be an "acceptable medical source, " Id . § 404.1502, and a medical opinion from a "treating source" may be given controlling weight in certain circumstances. 20 C.F.R. § 404.1527(c)(2).
Applying these regulations, a physician's assistant is an "other" medical source, not an "acceptable medical source" or a "treating source." Id . § 404.1513(d)(1). A physician's assistant's opinion is not, strictly speaking, a "medical opinion, " and is never entitled to controlling weight.
Recognizing the reality that an increasing number of claimants have their medical care provided by health care providers who are not "acceptable medical sources"-nurse-practitioners, physician's assistants, social workers, and therapists, the Commissioner promulgated SSR 06-3p. West's Soc. Sec. Reporting Serv., Rulings 327-34 (Supp. 2014). In that ruling, the Commissioner noted:
With the growth of managed health care in recent years and the emphasis on containing medical costs, medical sources who are not "acceptable medical sources, " such as nurse practitioners, physician assistants, and licensed clinical social workers, have increasingly assumed a greater percentage of the treatment and evaluation functions previously handled primarily by physicians and psychologists. Opinions from these medical sources, who are not technically deemed "acceptable medical sources" under our rules, are important and ...