Opinion ID: 658342
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Dr. Mandel v. himself

Text: 17 A hearing officer must mention and discuss, however briefly, uncontradicted evidence that supports the claim for benefits. Id. In light of the fact that the most significant reports by Dr. Mandel were uncontested, the hearing officer seemingly rejected those findings because they did not support the assessment of Dray's restrictions. In Kapusta v. Sullivan, 900 F.2d 94, 97 (7th Cir.1989), the court implied that an ALJ may reject a treating physician's opinion that is not supported by clinical findings. Id. at 96-97. Here, the hearing officer lists several clinical findings that she claims are absent from Dr. Mandel's report and essential for supporting his assessments. Decision of the Hearing Officer at 16. In response, Dray argues that at least two and maybe three of the four allegedly missing findings appear in the evidence. We find his arguments compelling. 18 First, the hearing officer states that there are no findings that Dray has had muscle atrophy, weakness, or sensory loss. But on at least two occasions Dr. Mandel found absent ankle jerks. R. 243, 269. Also, he describes distal weakness in [Dray's] lower extremities which [sic] appears to be in an L5-S1 distribution. R. 279. Moreover, Dr. Mandel stated in a letter that Dray could sit or walk for only ten minutes at a time due to severe limitations of motion. R. 272. Next, the hearing officer states that Dray had no significant impairment of gait. On at least one occasion, however, Dr. Mandel found that Dray throws both legs when walking. R. 269. In addition, the hearing officer is troubled by no indication of prescribed medication or other treatment to alleviate Dray's symptoms. Dray replies that he was on pain relievers--Halcion, Tylenol, and Percocet--upon his discharge from the hospital after his surgery in 1988. Later, however, Dray took nonprescription drugs only, including several extra-strength Tylenols daily, due to concerns of medical professionals that he might become addicted to painkillers. A claimant is justified in not taking adequate pain medication if there is a realistic chance of addiction. Cf. Stith v. Railroad Retirement Bd., 902 F.2d 1284, 1287 (7th Cir.1990) (citing Dover v. Bowen, 784 F.2d 335, 337 (8th Cir.1986)). 19 None of the hearing officer's three criticisms of Dr. Mandel's report seems valid. The Board responds weakly that [t]he fact that one could draw a different conclusion from the conflicting evidence is not dispositive of the case, and the Court is not free to reweigh the record to reach its own conclusion. Respondent's Brief at 17-18. That may be so, but the Board offers no principled reason why Dr. Mandel's findings do not support the degree of restrictions assessed. As suggested by subsection 1, supra, Dr. Mandel's assessments do not contradict those of other doctors. Moreover, after evaluating them in isolation, we do not find them to be supported by the requisite clinical findings identified by the hearing officer. For these reasons, the hearing officer's decision to disregard evidence supplied by Dr. Mandel is not supported by substantial evidence. See Zblewski, 732 F.2d at 78-79. 20 That is not to say, however, that the objective medical evidence and physicians' reports necessarily establish that Dray suffers from a disability. This court does not, of course, decide whether a claimant is disabled, Ehrhart, 969 F.2d at 538, unless the record can yield but one supportable conclusion. Campbell, 988 F.2d at 744. Our conclusion here is a narrow one: We merely question the logic of the finding that Dr. Mandel's reports contradict those of other physicians and the determination that his ultimate judgments were unsupported by objective documentation of the extent of Dray's restrictions. But our doubts about the reasoning of the hearing officer need not compel the court to modify or reverse the denial of benefits. Judges--ALJ's and hearing officers among them--must resist the urge to play doctor. Schmidt v. Sullivan, 914 F.2d 117, 118 (7th Cir.1990), cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 112 S.Ct. 278, 116 L.Ed.2d 230 (1991); Rousey v. Heckler, 771 F.2d 1065, 1069 (7th Cir.1985). Whether a claimant is disabled is a legal, not a medical, question--an ultimate conclusion for the hearing officer to make. Kapusta, 900 F.2d at 97. The decision of the hearing officer shall be upheld even if reasonable people can differ on the conclusion suggested by the evidence. See Walker, 834 F.2d at 640. Moreover, even if we are certain that the hearing officer arrived at an erroneous result--as distinct from an error in analysis--we are not compelled to reject the opinion in its entirety. Id. at 644 (citing Stephens, 766 F.2d at 287 (court reviews judgments, not opinions)). 21 In evaluating whether the overall evidence substantially supports the decision of the hearing officer, we take into account many different forms of evidence, including objective medical information, medical evaluations, the claims of the claimant, accounts of his daily activities, and the hearing officer's personal observations. Pope v. Shalala, 998 F.2d 473, 486 (7th Cir.1993). With that in mind, we turn to the issue of credibility.