Opinion ID: 2778513
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The Hypothetical Question Posed to the VE

Text: Thornton next argues that the ALJ’s decision was not supported by substantial evidence because the hypothetical presented to the VE was incomplete. In order for a VE’s testimony to constitute substantial evidence in support of a finding that there is sufficient work available in the economy that the claimant can perform at the fifth step in the sequential evaluation process, the ALJ must pose a hypothetical question to the VE “which comprises all of the claimant’s impairments.” Winschel, 631 F.3d at 1180 (citation omitted). Thornton argues that the hypothetical was incomplete because it did not specifically refer to her limitations in concentration, persistence, and pace or Huthwaite’s recommendation that there be intermittent supervision of her work. The failure to include either limitation in the hypothetical did not render it incomplete. In Winschel, we observed that “when medical evidence demonstrates that a claimant can engage in simple, routine tasks or unskilled work despite limitations in concentration, persistence, and pace, courts have concluded that limiting the hypothetical to include only unskilled work sufficiently accounts for such limitations.” Id. at 1180. Nonetheless, in Winschel we concluded that the VE’s testimony did not constitute substantial evidence to support the ALJ’s decision at step five of the process. Id. at 1181. In that case, the ALJ did not indicate that medical evidence suggested that the plaintiff’s ability to work was unaffected by 14 Case: 13-15165 Date Filed: 02/11/2015 Page: 15 of 23 his concentration, persistence, and pace limitations. Id. Nor did the ALJ otherwise implicitly account for the limitation in the hypothetical question. Id. Here, unlike in Winschel, the ALJ determined that the evidence demonstrated that Thornton could engage in simple, non-detailed tasks, despite “moderate” limitations in concentration, persistence, and pace.7 The hypothetical the ALJ posed specified that the VE should assume that Thornton could only perform “simple, non-detailed tasks.” There was substantial evidence to support this determination. O’Hagan found that Thornton could understand, remember, and carry out simple instructions. He noted that Thornton had a moderate limitation in her ability to sustain concentration for extended periods, that this limitation was not substantial and her concentration was adequate for basic activities, that she could sustain attention for two-hour segments, and that all other aspects of concentration and persistence were intact. Huthwaite indicated that Thornton appeared capable of performing simple tasks without difficulty, but that she may experience difficulty following more complex instructions. He noted that, if employed, Thornton would be expected to work at a slightly reduced pace, but that she was likely to persist with work-related tasks. The ALJ also adequately 7 In completing their evaluations of Thornton, Ude, O’Hagan, and Huthwaite determined that Thornton had—at most—only moderate limitations in maintaining concentration, persistence, and pace. The PRT form classifies impairments to limitations in maintaining concentration, persistence, or pace as mild, moderate, marked, or extreme. A marked or extreme impairment will be considered at the third step in the sequential process when determining whether the claimant’s mental impairment meets or medically equals an impairment listed in Appendix A. 20 C.F.R. §§ 404, Subpt. P, App. 1, 404.1520(a)(4)(iii), 416.920(a)(4)(iii). 15 Case: 13-15165 Date Filed: 02/11/2015 Page: 16 of 23 accounted for Hubbard’s assessment, which found that in January 2010, Thornton lacked the ability to engage in even simple tasks. Based on these considerations, the ALJ properly determined that Thornton could perform simple, non-detailed tasks despite her moderate limitations in maintaining concentration, persistence, and pace. Therefore, the ALJ’s hypothetical was not deficient because it did not specifically refer to Thornton’s limitations in maintaining concentration, persistence, and pace. Likewise, Thornton’s argument that the hypothetical to the VE was incomplete because the ALJ failed to include any reference to Thornton’s need for intermittent supervision is without merit. In assessing Thornton’s ability to work, Huthwaite indicated that intermittent supervision was “recommended.” He did not indicate that intermittent supervision was required as opposed to merely recommended. Nor did he explain what intermittent supervision would entail, or proffer a rationale for his recommendation. Nothing in Huthwaite’s evaluation indicates that this recommendation meant that Thornton had a specific limitation as to supervision that should have been explicitly or implicitly included in the ALJ’s RFC and in the hypothetical presented to the VE. Thornton offers nothing more than her own opinion that Huthwaite’s observation about the desirability of intermittent supervision means that she requires more than normal supervision. 16 Case: 13-15165 Date Filed: 02/11/2015 Page: 17 of 23 Moreover, contrary to Thornton’s argument on appeal, SSR 85-15 does not provide that an individual who cannot work without normal supervision is disabled. Instead, SSR 85-15 merely acknowledges that unskilled work generally involves some supervision. See SSR 85-15 at  (noting that one of the basic mental demands of unskilled work is the ability to respond appropriately to supervision). Accordingly, the ALJ’s hypothetical to the VE adequately accounted for Thornton’s limitations. Because the hypothetical is not incomplete, the VE’s testimony constitutes substantial evidence supporting the ALJ’s finding that the Commissioner met its burden in showing that there was work in the national economy that the claimant could perform. See Winschel, 631 F.3d at 1180–81.