Opinion ID: 3166090
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: The ALJ’s Treatment of Mr. Duval’s Testimony

Text: Mr. Duval also challenges the ALJ’s determination that his testimony about the intensity, persistence and limiting effects of his symptoms was not credible to the extent that it was inconsistent with the ALJ’s residual functional capacity assessment and unsupported by medical evidence. He argues that the ALJ failed to apply the proper standard and that substantial evidence does not support the credibility determination. We are unconvinced. When a claimant attempts to establish a disability through his own testimony concerning pain or other subjective symptoms, we require “(1) evidence of an underlying medical condition; and (2) either (a) objective medical evidence confirming the severity of the alleged pain, or (b) that the objectively determined medical condition can reasonably be expected to give rise to the claimed pain.” Wilson v. Barnhart, 284 F.3d 1219, 1225 (11th Cir. 2002). If the record shows that 17 Case: 15-10939 Date Filed: 12/29/2015 Page: 18 of 22 the claimant has a medically determinable impairment that could reasonably be expected to produce his symptoms, the ALJ must evaluate the intensity and persistence of the symptoms in determining how they limit the claimant’s capacity for work. 20 C.F.R. §§ 404.1529(c)(1), 416.927(c)(1). The ALJ is not required to examine every piece of evidence so long as the decision does not broadly reject the claimant’s case and is sufficient for a reviewing court to conclude that the ALJ considered the claimant’s medical condition as a whole. See Mitchell v. Comm’r, Soc. Sec. Admin., 771 F.3d 780, 782 (11th Cir. 2014). “If proof of disability is based upon subjective evidence and a credibility determination is, therefore, critical to the decision, the ALJ must either explicitly discredit such testimony or the implication must be so clear as to amount to a specific credibility finding.” Foote v. Chater, 67 F.3d 1553, 1562 (11th Cir. 1995) (internal quotation marks omitted). The ALJ applied the correct legal standard when reviewing Mr. Duval’s credibility, and substantial evidence supports the ALJ’s credibility determination. The ALJ applied the three-step framework for evaluating subjective testimony from a claimant. In evaluating the intensity and persistence of symptoms, the ALJ concluded there were inconsistencies between Mr. Duval’s testimony and the objective medical evidence. For example, after finding that the medical records 18 Case: 15-10939 Date Filed: 12/29/2015 Page: 19 of 22 contradicted Mr. Duval’s assertion that he had very limited use of his right hand, the ALJ discounted his testimony. Mr. Duval claims that the ALJ failed to provide any reason for finding his subjective testimony about seizures, 7 headaches, and mental impairments to lack credibility. We disagree. The ALJ explained that Mr. Duval’s testimony was not credible to the extent it was unsupported by the objective medical evidence and then discussed at length why similar opinions from Mr. Duval’s treating medical providers were unsupported by the record. From this discussion, we can clearly infer what testimony from Mr. Duval the ALJ found lacking in credibility and why it was discredited. For example, the ALJ discussed the medical evidence showing that Mr. Duval’s seizures were controlled by medication, the severity of his headaches was overstated, and he had only mild to moderate limitations based on his depression and anxiety. Mr. Duval also argues that the ALJ used improper boilerplate language that tied the credibility determination to the ALJ’s residual functional capacity assessment. But we have previously affirmed credibility determinations using that formula when they did not broadly reject the claimant’s testimony. See Mitchell, 771 F.3d at 781–82. We conclude that the ALJ committed no legal error when 7 We note that Mr. Duval presented limited testimony about the frequency of his seizures and testified only about the frequency in March 2010, March 2012, and April 2012. It appears that Mr. Duval made a strategic decision not to testify about the frequency of his seizures in the intervening period when they occurred less frequently. 19 Case: 15-10939 Date Filed: 12/29/2015 Page: 20 of 22 reviewing Mr. Duval’s testimony, and substantial evidence supports the ALJ’s determination that Mr. Duval’s testimony was only partially credible.