Source: http://or.findacase.com/research/wfrmDocViewer.aspx/xq/fac.20190120_0000104.DOR.htm/qx
Timestamp: 2020-02-22 23:11:13
Document Index: 261149472

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 636', '§ 404', '§ 404', '§ 404', '§ 404', '§ 404', '§ 404']

FindACase™ | Gayle L. R. v. Commissioner of Social Security Administration
Gayle L. R. v. Commissioner of Social Security Administration
GAYLE L. R., [1] Plaintiff,
Plaintiff Gayle R. brings this action for judicial review of the final decision of the Commissioner of Social Security ("Commissioner") denying her application for Title II Disability Insurance Benefits ("DIB"). All parties have consented to allow a Magistrate Judge enter final orders and judgment in this case in accordance with Fed.R.Civ.P. 73 and 28 U.S.C. § 636(c). For the reasons set forth below, the Commissioner's decision is affirmed and this case is dismissed.
On October 11, 2013, plaintiff applied for DIB, alleging disability as of February 21, 2012. Tr. 167-73. Her application was denied initially and upon reconsideration. Tr. 117-21, 123-25. On October 6, 2016, a hearing was held before an Administrative Law Judge ("ALJ"), wherein plaintiff was represented by counsel and testified, as did a vocational expert ("VE"). Tr. 35-84. On November 25, 2016, the ALJ issued a decision finding plaintiff not disabled within the meaning of the Social Security Act. Tr. 20-29. After the Appeals Council denied her request for review, plaintiff filed a complaint in this Court. Tr. 1-6.
Born in 1951, plaintiff was 60 years old on the alleged onset date and 64 years old at the time of the hearing. Tr. 39, 167. She graduated from high school and completed one year of college. Tr. 41, 211. Plaintiff worked previously as bus driver and drug/alcohol program specialist for Trimet. Tr. 62, 65-71, 212. Plaintiff alleges disability due to fibromyalgia, chronic pain, bursitis, hypertension, sleep problems, and post-traumatic stress disorder ("PTSD"). Tr. 210.
The Commissioner has established a five step sequential process for determining whether a person is disabled. Bowen v. Yuckert, 482 U.S. 137, 140 (1987); 20 C.F.R. § 404.1520. First, the Commissioner determines whether a claimant is engaged in "substantial gainful activity." Yuckert, 482 U.S. at 140; 20 C.F.R. § 404.1520(b). If so, the claimant is not disabled.
At step four, the Commissioner resolves whether the claimant can still perform "past relevant work." 20 C.F.R. § 404.1520(f). If the claimant can work, she is not disabled; if she cannot perform past relevant work, the burden shifts to the Commissioner. At step five, the Commissioner must establish that the claimant can perform other work existing in significant numbers in the national or local economy. Yuckert, 482 U.S. at 141-42; 20 C.F.R. § 404.1520(g). If the Commissioner meets this burden, the claimant is not disabled. 20 C.F.R. § 404.1566.
At step one of the five step sequential evaluation process outlined above, the ALJ found plaintiff had not engaged in substantial gainful activity since the alleged onset date. Tr. 22. At step two, the ALJ determined the following impairments were medically determinable and severe: "degenerative disc disease, bilateral shoulder degenerative joint disease, bursitis, fibromyalgia, and obesity." Id. At step three, the ALJ found plaintiffs impairments, either singly or in combination, did not meet or equal the requirements of a listed impairment. Tr. 24.
Because she did not establish presumptive disability at step three, the ALJ continued to evaluate how plaintiffs impairments affected her ability to work. The ALJ resolved that plaintiff had the residual functional capacity ("RFC") to perform light work as defined by 20 C.F.R. § 404.1567(b) except that:
she can stand and walk for a combined total of six hours and can sit for a total of six hours in an eight-hour day. [Plaintiff] can frequently push and pull; frequently climb ramps, stairs, ladders, ropes, and scaffolds; and frequently balance, stoop, ...