Source: https://openjurist.org/373/f3d/1116/langley-v-b-barnhart
Timestamp: 2018-01-20 03:23:10
Document Index: 25620701

Matched Legal Cases: ['art\n373', 'art\n373', '§ 404', 'art, 331', '§ 404', 'art, 350', 'art, 288', 'art, 366', '§ 12', '§ 404']

373 F3d 1116 Langley v. B Barnhart | OpenJurist
373 F. 3d 1116 - Langley v. B Barnhart
373 F3d 1116 Langley v. B Barnhart
373 F.3d 1116
Roberta LANGLEY, Plaintiff-Appellant,
Catherine Taylor of Perrine, McGivern, Redemann, Reid, Berry & Taylor, P.L.L.C., Tulsa, OK, for Plaintiff-Appellant.
Claimant Roberta Langley appeals from a district court order adopting the magistrate judge's recommendation to affirm the Commissioner's denial of her application for Social Security disability benefits. Claimant contends on appeal that the administrative law judge (ALJ) did not properly evaluate the opinions of her treating physicians and erred in determining that she does not have any severe impairments. We reverse and remand for further proceedings.1
Claimant applied for disability benefits on June 1, 2000, claiming an inability to work since December 1, 1997, due to rheumatoid arthritis, chronic fatigue, chronic headaches, depression, and reflux disorder. The Commissioner has established a five-step sequential evaluation process for determining whether a claimant is disabled. See Williams v. Bowen, 844 F.2d 748, 750-52 (10th Cir.1988). In this case, the ALJ determined that claimant was not disabled at step two of the evaluation process. At step two, it is the claimant's burden to demonstrate an impairment, or a combination of impairments, that significantly limit her ability to do basic work activities. See Bowen v. Yuckert, 482 U.S. 137, 146 n. 5, 107 S.Ct. 2287, 96 L.Ed.2d 119 (1987); 20 C.F.R. § 404.1521. After considering the medical evidence and conducting a hearing, the ALJ found that claimant had not met this burden.
We review the Commissioner's decision to determine whether the correct legal standards were applied and whether the Commissioner's factual findings are supported by substantial evidence in the record. Doyal v. Barnhart, 331 F.3d 758, 760 (10th Cir.2003). "Substantial evidence is such relevant evidence as a reasonable mind might accept as adequate to support a conclusion." Id. (quotation omitted). "A decision is not based on substantial evidence if it is overwhelmed by other evidence in the record or if there is a mere scintilla of evidence supporting it." Bernal v. Bowen, 851 F.2d 297, 299 (10th Cir.1988). This court may "neither reweigh the evidence nor substitute our judgment for that of the agency." Casias v. Sec'y of Health & Human Servs., 933 F.2d 799, 800 (10th Cir.1991).
According to what has come to be known as the treating physician rule, the Commissioner will generally give more weight to medical opinions from treating sources than those from non-treating sources. 20 C.F.R. § 404.1527(d)(2). "In deciding how much weight to give a treating source opinion, an ALJ must first determine whether the opinion qualifies for `controlling weight.'" Watkins v. Barnhart, 350 F.3d 1297, 1300 (10th Cir.2003). To make this determination, the ALJ:
"Under the regulations, the agency rulings, and our case law, an ALJ must give good reasons ... for the weight assigned to a treating physician's opinion," that are "sufficiently specific to make clear to any subsequent reviewers the weight the adjudicator gave to the treating source's medical opinion and the reason for that weight." Id. at 1300 (quotations omitted). "[I]f the ALJ rejects the opinion completely, he must then give specific, legitimate reasons for doing so." Id. at 1301 (quotations omitted).
The ALJ also improperly rejected Dr. Hjortsvang's opinion based upon his own speculative conclusion that the report was based only on claimant's subjective complaints and was "an act of courtesy to a patient." Id. The ALJ had no legal nor evidentiary basis for either of these findings. Nothing in Dr. Hjortsvang's reports indicates he relied only on claimant's subjective complaints or that his report was merely an act of courtesy. "In choosing to reject the treating physician's assessment, an ALJ may not make speculative inferences from medical reports and may reject a treating physician's opinion outright only on the basis of contradictory medical evidence and not due to his or her own credibility judgments, speculation or lay opinion." McGoffin v. Barnhart, 288 F.3d 1248, 1252 (10th Cir.2002) (quotation omitted; emphasis in original). And this court "held years ago that an ALJ's assertion that a family doctor naturally advocates his patient's cause is not a good reason to reject his opinion as a treating physician." Id. at 1253.
The ALJ provided a facially valid reason for not giving Dr. Williams's opinion controlling weight: that it was not consistent with other substantial evidence in the record. We find no obvious inconsistencies, however, between Dr. Williams's opinion and either his treatment notes or the other evidence in the record relating to claimant's depression. In his treatment notes, Dr. Williams diagnosed claimant with major depressive disorder with psychosis and with pain disorder. Id. at 529, 530, 531. He noted that she was depressed, though not suicidal or delusional, and noted that claimant hears voices. Dr. Williams prescribed anti-psychotic medication.2 He described claimant as being logical and coherent, with no gross cognitive problems, but also noted that she had a restricted range of affect and difficulty concentrating. Dr. Williams also stated in his treatment notes that claimant is unable to work. Id. at 496. As to the ALJ's statement that Dr. Williams's opinion is not based on "a genuine medical assessment of discrete functional limitations based upon clinically established pathologies," id. at 31, we note "that a psychological opinion may rest either on observed signs and symptoms or on psychological tests," Robinson v. Barnhart, 366 F.3d 1078, 1083 (10th Cir.2004) (citing 20 C.F.R. Subpart P, App. 1 § 12.00(B)). Thus, Dr. Williams's observations about claimant's functional limitations do constitute specific medical findings. See id.
Nor do we see obvious inconsistencies between Dr. Williams's opinion and the medical records of other examining physicians. A consulting physician, Dr. Sutcliffe, noted that claimant's history suggests she has depressive disorder. He concluded that claimant has diminished immediate and short term recall, "certainly" lacks the cognitive ability to do complicated tasks, such as beautician work or driving a school bus, has a diminished ability to tolerate routine stressors, and might prefer to be alone and withdrawn. Aplt.App. at 238. Dr. Sutcliffe rated claimant's global assessment of functioning (GAF) score at 53, indicating moderate symptoms.3 Another examining psychiatrist, Dr. Layeni, reported that claimant suffers from major depressive disorder, hears voices, has poor concentration, lethargy, hopelessness, guilt, decreased interest, and situational panic attacks. Dr. Layeni rated claimant's GAF score at 50, indicating serious symptoms.
Moreover, the ALJ's decision does not indicate that he considered the cumulative effect of claimant's impairments. At step two, the ALJ must "consider the combined effect of all of [the claimant's] impairments without regard to whether any such impairment, if considered separately, would be of sufficient severity." 20 C.F.R. § 404.1523. If the claimant's combined impairments are medically severe, the Commissioner must consider "the combined impact of the impairments ... throughout the disability determination process." Id.
The ALJ stated that claimant quit taking this medication. We do not find support for this statement. Rather, the treatment records indicate that Dr. Williams discontinued one anti-psychotic medication when claimant complained it made her feel like a zombie, but noted that claimant agreed to try another anti-psychotic medication, and later prescribed a different anti-psychotic medicationId. at 532, 530.
The GAF is a subjective determination based on a scale of 100 to 1 of "the clinician's judgment of the individual's overall level of functioning." American Psychiatric Association, Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (Text Revision 4th ed.2000) at 32. A GAF score of 51-60 indicates "moderate symptoms," such as a flat affect, or "moderate difficulty in social or occupational functioning."Id. at 34. A GAF score of 41-50 indicates "[s]erious symptoms ... [or] serious impairment in social, occupational, or school functioning," such as inability to keep a job. Id.