Source: http://ia.findacase.com/research/wfrmDocViewer.aspx/xq/fac.20170908_0000580.NIA.htm/qx
Timestamp: 2018-05-21 13:13:33
Document Index: 750386180

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 401', '§ 404', '§ 423', '§ 404', '§ 423', '§ 404']

SHEMIKA C. GEORGE, Plaintiff,
Claimant, Shemika C. George (claimant), seeks judicial review of a final decision of the Commissioner of Social Security (the Commissioner) denying her application for disability insurance benefits, under Title II of the Social Security Act, 42 U.S.C. § 401 et seq. (Act). Claimant also filed a Title XVI application for supplemental security income which was also denied. Claimant contends that the Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) erred in determining she was not disabled.
Claimant was born in 1984 and was 30 years old at the time of the ALJ's decision to deny benefits. (Doc. 13, at 2). Claimant completed an online associate's degree for medical administrative assistant. (AR 49).[1] Claimant filed her application for Social Security Disability Insurance and Supplemental Security Income benefits on May 30, 2013. (AR 17, 226). Claimant asserted that her disability began December 15, 2012, at age 28, for impairments that include schizoaffective disorder and bipolar type. (AR 265). The Social Security Administration denied the claimant's application initially and upon reconsideration. (AR 153-61, 165-72). Claimant timely filed a Request for Hearing, and a hearing was held on June 9, 2015, before Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) Jo Ann L. Draper. On October 6, 2015, the ALJ determined that claimant was able to perform past relevant work, such as laundry worker, marker, and cleaner. (AR 30). As a result, the ALJ determined claimant was not disabled and was not entitled to benefits.
Claimant timely requested review of the ALJ's decision by the Appeals Council. The Appeals Council denied review on September 22, 2016. (AR 1). The ALJ's decision, thus, became the final decision of the Commissioner. 20 C.F.R. § 404.981. On November 21, 2016, claimant filed a complaint in this court. (Doc. 3).
A disability is defined as “the inability to 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); 20 C.F.R. § 404.1505. An individual has a disability when, due to his/her physical or mental impairments, he/she “is not only unable to do his previous work but cannot, considering his age, education, and work experience, engage in any other kind of substantial gainful work which exists . . . in significant numbers either in the region where such individual lives or in several regions of the country.” 42 U.S.C. § 423(d)(2)(A). If a claimant is able to do work which exists in the national economy but is unemployed because of inability to get work, lack of opportunities in the local area, economic conditions, employer hiring practices, or other factors, the ALJ will still find claimant not disabled. 20 C.F.R. § 404.1566(c)(1)-(8).
At Step 1, the ALJ found claimant had not engaged in substantial gainful activity since December 15, 2012, the alleged date of disability onset. (AR 19).
At Step 2, the ALJ determined claimant had the following severe impairments: schizoaffective disorder, anxiety disorder, obesity, and lumbar spine curvature. (Id.). The ALJ acknowledged other impairments that were listed in the record, including headaches, obstructive sleep apnea, mild early degenerative changes to the cervical spine and subchondral cyst in the right acromioclavicular joint, but found they did not cause significant limitation of functioning, or did not last for a continuous period of 12 months. (AR 20).
At Step 3, the ALJ determined claimant did not have a physical or mental impairment or a combination of impairments that met or medically equaled the severity of a listed impairment in 20 C.F.R. Pt. 404, Subpt. P, App. 1. (AR 23-24). Because of this determination, disability could not be established based on medical facts alone. (20 C.F.R. Pt. 404.1520(d) and 416.920(d)). The ALJ found claimant had the following “paragraph B” criteria limitations: mild difficulties in activities of daily living; moderate difficulties in social functioning; moderate difficulties with concentration, persistence of pace, and no episodes of decompensation. (AR 21). The ALJ did not find any “paragraph C” criteria. (Id.).
At Step 4, the ALJ determined claimant's residual functional capacity. The ALJ found that “claimant has the residual functional capacity to perform medium work” with the following restrictions:
[Claimant] could stand or walk for six hours in an eight-hour workday and sit for six hours in an eight-hour workday. She would need to avoid constant climbing, balancing, stooping, kneeling, crouching, and crawling. She could never climb ladders, ropes, or scaffolds. She could perform tasks learned in 30 days or less, involving no more than work-related decisions, requiring little to no judgment, and only occasional workplace changes. She should have no interaction with the ...