Source: http://openjurist.org/393/f3d/798/guilliams-v-b-barnhart
Timestamp: 2013-12-06 12:25:57
Document Index: 776689651

Matched Legal Cases: ['art\n393', 'art 393', 'art, 356', 'art, 368', 'art, 349', 'art, 354', '§ 404', '§ 404', '§ 404', '§ 404']

393 F3d 798 Guilliams v. B Barnhart | OpenJurist
393 F. 3d 798 - Guilliams v. B Barnhart	Home393 f3d 798 guilliams v. b barnhart
393 F3d 798 Guilliams v. B Barnhart 393 F.3d 798
Mark S. GUILLIAMS, Appellant,v.Jo Anne B. BARNHART, Commissioner, Social Security Administration, Appellee.
No. 04-1113.
Marg S. Naggi, C. Geraldine Umphenour, Social Security Admin. of Kansas City, MO, for appellee.
Before COLLOTON, HEANEY, and HANSEN, Circuit Judges.
Mark Guilliams applied for disability insurance benefits and supplemental security benefits under Titles II and XVI of the Social Security Act. The Commissioner of the Social Security Administration denied his application. An administrative law judge ("ALJ") determined that although Guilliams's bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome and other impairments were, in combination, medically severe, Guilliams had the residual functional capacity ("RFC") to perform jobs that exist in substantial numbers in the national and regional economy. The Social Security Appeals Council denied review, and the district court1 affirmed the decision of the Commissioner. We affirm.
We review de novo the district court's judgment upholding the denial of social security benefits. Harris v. Barnhart, 356 F.3d 926, 928 (8th Cir.2004). In reviewing the district court's decision, we consider whether the ALJ's determination is supported by substantial evidence on the record as a whole. Id. Substantial evidence is less than a preponderance, but enough that a reasonable mind would find it adequate to support the ALJ's determination. Sultan v. Barnhart, 368 F.3d 857, 862 (8th Cir.2004). We consider evidence that supports the ALJ's decision as well as evidence that detracts from it, but even if inconsistent conclusions may be drawn from the evidence, the agency's decision will be upheld if it is supported by substantial evidence on the record as a whole. Chamberlain v. Shalala, 47 F.3d 1489, 1493 (8th Cir.1995). We do not re-weigh the evidence presented to the ALJ, Baldwin v. Barnhart, 349 F.3d 549, 555 (8th Cir.2003), and we defer to the ALJ's determinations regarding the credibility of testimony, so long as they are supported by good reasons and substantial evidence. Gregg v. Barnhart, 354 F.3d 710, 714 (8th Cir.2003).
The Commissioner follows a familiar five-step process to determine whether a claimant is disabled. See generally 20 C.F.R. §§ 404.1520, 416.920; Bowen v. Yuckert, 482 U.S. 137, 140-42, 107 S.Ct. 2287, 96 L.Ed.2d 119 (1987). At step four, the ALJ determines the claimant's RFC, which is defined as what a claimant "can still do despite [his or her] limitations." 20 C.F.R. §§ 404.1545(a), 416.945(a). In determining a claimant's RFC, the ALJ must evaluate his or her credibility and take into account all relevant evidence. See Pearsall v. Massanari, 274 F.3d 1211, 1217 (8th Cir.2001); 20 C.F.R. §§ 404.1545, 416.945.
Guilliams argues that the ALJ incorrectly determined that his RFC included the ability to do some types of "light work" as defined in the Social Security regulations. See 20 C.F.R. §§ 404.1567(b); 416.967(b). He alleges that, in reaching this conclusion, the ALJ improperly discredited his complaints of pain and disregarded the evidence provided by one of his examining physicians. We conclude that the ALJ's determination that Guilliams's complaints of pain were exaggerated was supported by substantial evidence, and that he gave sufficient weight to the evidence of Guilliams's examining physicians.