Source: http://al.findacase.com/research/wfrmDocViewer.aspx/xq/fac.20150226_0000184.NAL.htm/qx
Timestamp: 2017-04-24 01:37:59
Document Index: 506635006

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 405', '§ 404', 'art, 395', '§ 423', '§ 404', 'art, 395']

CORNELL PATRICK MOORE, Claimantv.CAROLYN W. COLVIN, Commissioner of Social Security, Respondent.
On December 3, 2010, Cornell Moore, the claimant, filed a Title II application for a period of disability and disability insurance benefits, alleging disability beginning on July 21, 2008. (R. 15). He claimed inability to work because of his rheumatoid arthritis, degenerative disc disease, back pain, and post traumatic stress disorder. (R. 165). The Commissioner denied the claim on January 27, 2011. After the claimant filed a request for a hearing, the ALJ conducted a hearing on July 12, 2012.
On August 16, 2012, the ALJ determined that the claimant was not disabled, as defined by the Social Security Act, from July 21, 2008, his alleged onset date, to the time of the hearing. (R. 16). On November 13, 2013, the Appeals Council denied the claimant's request for review; consequently the ALJ's decision became the final decision of the Commissioner of the Social Security Administration. (R. 1). The claimant exhausted administrative remedies, and this court has jurisdiction pursuant to 42 U.S.C. §§ 405(g). For the reasons stated below, this court AFFIRMS the decision of the Commissioner.
The issue before the court is whether substantial evidence supports that the ALJ, in assessing the claimant's physical and mental impairments, (1) properly conducted a residual functional capacity assessment; (2) correctly applied the grid guidelines rather than relying on vocational experts; and (3) appropriately discredited the claimant's treating physician.
"No... presumption of validity attaches to the [Commissioner's] legal conclusions, including determination of the proper standards to be applied in evaluating claims." Walker, 826 F.2d at 999. However, this court does not review the Commissioner's factual determinations de novo. The court will affirm those factual determinations that are supported by substantial evidence. "Substantial evidence" is "more than a mere scintilla. It means such relevant evidence as a reasonable mind might accept as adequate to support a conclusion." Richardson v. Perales, 402 U.S. 389, 402 (1971).
The court must keep in mind that opinions such as whether a claimant is disabled, the nature and extent of a claimant's residual functional capacity, and the application of vocational factors "are not medical opinions, ... but are, instead, opinions on issues reserved to the Commissioner because they are administrative findings that are dispositive of a case; i.e., that would direct the determination or decision of disability." 20 C.F.R. §§ 404.1527(d), 416.927(d). Whether the claimant meets the listing and qualifies for Social Security disability benefits is a question reserved for the ALJ, and the court "may not decide facts anew, reweigh the evidence, or substitute [its] judgment for that of the Commissioner." Dyer v. Barnhart, 395 F.3d 1206, 1210 (11th Cir. 2005). Thus, even if the court were to disagree with the ALJ about the significance of certain facts, the court has no power to reverse that finding as long as substantial evidence exists in the record to support it.
A person is entitled to disability benefits when the person cannot "engage in any substantial gainful activity by reason of any medically determinable physical or mental impairment which can be expected to result in death or which has lasted or can be expected to last for a continuous period of not less than 12 months." 42. U.S.C. § 423(d)(1)(A). To make this determination, the Commissioner employs a five-step, sequential evaluation process:
McDaniel v. Bowen, 800 F.2d 1026, 1030 (11th Cir. 1986); 20. C.F.R.§ § 404.1520, 416.920.
The ALJ must complete an RFC assessment of each claimant. Social Security Ruling 96-8p provides:
SSR 96-8p at *4-*5. However, the ALJ is not required to "specifically refer to every piece of evidence in his decision, " so long as the decision is sufficient to show that the ALJ considered the claimant's medical condition as a whole. Dyer v. Barnhart, 395 ...