Barthelemy v. Barnhart

107 F. App'x 689
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
DecidedAugust 19, 2004
DocketNo. 03-2884
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 107 F. App'x 689 (Barthelemy v. Barnhart) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Barthelemy v. Barnhart, 107 F. App'x 689 (7th Cir. 2004).

Opinion

[691]*691ORDER

Richard Barthelemy suffers from obesity, hypertension, and sleep apnea. He applied for disability insurance benefits in September 1998 based on high blood pressure and leg pain. The district court affirmed the Commissioner’s final decision denying Barthelemy disability benefits, and he appeals. Barthelemy argues that the ALJ’s decision is not supported by substantial evidence and that the ALJ’s handling of the proceedings was biased. We affirm.

Barthelemy, who has consistently weighed around 800 pounds, has a long history of obesity and high blood pressure. He has been diagnosed with severe hypertension and has followed a regimen of medication designed to stabilize his blood pressure. Since 1997, he has been treated by Dorothea DiCiro, a nurse practitioner, for his hypertension and other general concerns. Barthelemy has also seen numerous doctors and specialists concerning his hypertension, sleep apnea, and depression.

Barthelemy’s hypertension caused him to stop working in April 1998. From that time through July 2001, Barthelemy’s doctors disagreed on whether his blood pressure was under control. On six occasions, Barthelemy’s diastolic blood pressure was measured above 100; at that level, says his treating physician Dr. Suresh, Barthelemy “experiences diaphoresis or sweating, headaches, blurred vision, and near fainting symptoms.”

During this time, Barthelemy also visited Dr. Matick, a neurologist, who conducted a sleep study to test him for sleep apnea. The study incorporated the use of a continued positive airway pressure (CPAP) device. After the study concluded, Dr. Matick recommended that Barthelemy continue to use the CPAP device. On a follow-up visit, Dr. Matick noted that Barthelemy was sleeping approximately eight hours a night and “usually wakes up feeling well” when he uses the CPAP device.

At the first hearing, the ALJ granted Barthelemy’s request to have a psychological evaluation performed by a clinical psychologist. Dr. Stevens performed the psychological evaluation and diagnosed Barthelemy with an Adjustment Disorder, including depression, anxiety, and physical complaints. But after performing a reevaluation several months later, Dr. Stevens concluded that Barthelemy could perform all work-related activities.

As additional support for Barthelemy’s claim of disability, Dr. Suresh, one of Barthelemy’s treating physicians in the clinic where DiCiro practices, wrote a letter to the ALJ stating that Barthelemy had suffered from hypertension since 1990, that his elevated blood pressure was stress-related, and that working elevated his blood pressure to levels that caused dizziness, sweating, headaches, and near-fainting symptoms. Noting that any blood pressure reading above 120/80 is abnormal, Dr. Suresh concluded his letter by stating, “At this time [his] blood pressure, if he is under no stress, remains in the 150/90 range however if he is under any type of stress his blood pressure becomes extremely elevated and the possibility of a stroke is most likely.”

Barthelemy filed for disability benefits in September 1998, alleging an onset date of April 1998. The Social Security Administration denied both Barthelemy’s initial claim and his request for reconsideration. The ALJ also denied Barthelemy’s claim, but the ALJ’s decision was vacated and remanded by the appeals council because the record did not contain medical evidence of Barthelemy’s mental functioning. The ALJ was instructed to obtain additional evidence about Barthelemy’s depression [692]*692and mental impairment “including the effect of stress on the claimant’s blood pressure and other symptoms and their effect on his ability to work.”

After conducting two additional hearings, the ALJ again denied Barthelemy’s claim. The ALJ applied the five-step analysis, see 20 C.F.R. § 404.1520, and found that Barthelemy had not engaged in any substantial gainful activity since his alleged onset of disability; that he suffered from the “severe” impairments of hypertension, obesity, leg pain, sleep apnea, and depression; that he did not suffer from impairments which met or equaled the level of severity of a listed impairment; that he could not perform his past relevant medium work; that he had a high school education, skilled work experience, and transferable skills; and that he could perform light work. The ALJ then applied the applicable vocational guidelines (“the grid”) and found that Barthelemy, even once he reached 50 years of age (qualifying as “approaching advanced age”), was not disabled. See 20 C.F.R. Part 404, Subpt. P, App. 2 §§ 202.15, 202.22 (2002). The appeals council subsequently denied review, rendering the ALJ’s order the Commissioner’s final decision for purposes of judicial review. Barthelemy filed this action challenging the denial of his benefits in the district court. The district court affirmed the Commissioner’s decision that Barthelemy was not disabled.

At this stage, we examine whether the ALJ’s findings were supported by substantial evidence, not whether Barthelemy is disabled. See Jens v. Barnhart, 347 F.3d 209, 212 (7th Cir.2003). “Evidence is ‘substantial’ if it is sufficient for a reasonable person to accept as adequate to support the decision.” Johansen v. Barnhart, 314 F.3d 283, 287 (7th Cir.2002) (quoting Sims v. Barnhart, 309 F.3d 424, 428 (7th Cir. 2002)). When reviewing the record, this court does not substitute its judgment for the ALJ’s “by reconsidering facts, reweighing the evidence, resolving conflicts in evidence, or deciding questions of credibility.” Williams v. Apfel, 179 F.3d 1066, 1071-72 (7th Cir.1999). Rather, if the Commissioner’s findings are supported by substantial evidence, they are conclusive. Jens, 347 F.3d at 212.

Barthelemy’s Hypertension

On appeal, Barthelemy first argues that the ALJ misstated the record when he concluded that Barthelemy’s diastolic pressure only twice exceeded 100 during the relevant periods. Barthelemy asserts that his diastolic blood pressure actually met or exceeded 100 on 32 occasions between 1996 and 2001. Most of those 32 readings, however, preceded April 1998, his asserted onset date. For the relevant period between April 1998 and July 2001, Barthelemy’s diastolic blood pressure in fact met or exceeded 100 on 6 occasions.

Although the ALJ did underestimate the number of times that Barthelemy’s diastolic pressure spiked, the difference between two and six episodes is not so great as to require us to conclude that the ALJ erred; the record as a whole supports the ALJ’s conclusion that Barthelemy’s diastolic pressure reached the 100 mark only infrequently, and so substantial evidence does support the ALJ’s decision. See Jens, 347 F.3d at 212.

Barthelemy’s treating physician

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107 F. App'x 689, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/barthelemy-v-barnhart-ca7-2004.