Bernola v. Commissioner of Social Security

127 F. Supp. 3d 857, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 119921, 2015 WL 5254997
CourtDistrict Court, N.D. Ohio
DecidedSeptember 9, 2015
DocketCase No. 3:14CV1405
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 127 F. Supp. 3d 857 (Bernola v. Commissioner of Social Security) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. Ohio primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Bernola v. Commissioner of Social Security, 127 F. Supp. 3d 857, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 119921, 2015 WL 5254997 (N.D. Ohio 2015).

Opinion

ORDER

JAMES G. CARR, Senior District Judge.

This is a Social Security case in which plaintiff, Kasey A. Bernola, appeals from the Commissioner’s decision denying her application for Social Security Disability (SSD) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits under Title II and XVI of the Social Security Act, 42 U.S.C. § 1381 et seq.

Bernola objects to the Magistrate Judge’s Report and Recommendation (R & R) (Doc. 19) and asks I overrule the R & R and reverse the Commissioner’s decision. (Doc. 20).

I have jurisdiction under 42 U.S.C. § 405(g).

For the following reasons, I adopt in full the R & R, and I affirm the decision of the administrative law judge (ALJ).

Background

Numerous decisions have laid out the facts supporting Bernola’s application to the Social Security Administration (SSA), so I only briefly summarize the information here.

Bernola applied for SSD and'SSI benefits on January 3, 2011.1 (Doc. 13 at 226, 228). She claimed she had been unable to work since August 2008 due to numerous disabling conditions: “left knee; schizophrenia w/ psychotic episodes; PTSD; panic attacks; anxiety; [bipolar disorder] with both manic depressive and manic episodes; [and] lower back pain.”2 (Id. at [860]*860226, 228, 258).

Upon receiving her application, the SSA notified her she did not have sufficient work history to be eligible for SSD benefits. (Doc. 13 at 119). Bernola did not appeal that determination, nor does she challenge it here. (Id.; Doc. 14 at 2).

Later, the SSA denied Bernola’s SSI application, both initially and upon reconsideration. (Doc. 13 at 123-25, 133-35). On March 30, 2012, Bernola filed a written request for a hearing before an ALJ. (Id. at 140-41).

An ALJ heard Bernola’s case on November 2, 2012. (Id. at 37-64).

To determine whether Bernola had a disability, the ALJ undertook the five-step sequential analysis set forth in 20 C.F.R. § 404.1520(a)(4)(i-v). (Doc. 13 at 14-25). The Sixth Circuit described the analysis in Wilson v. Commissioner of Social Security, 378 F.3d 541, 548 (6th Cir.2004):

First, the claimant must demonstrate that [she] has not engaged in substantial gainful activity during the period of disability. Second, the claimant must show that [she] suffers from a severe medically determinable physical or mental impairment. Third, if the claimant shows that [her] impairment meets or medically equals one of the impairments listed in [the applicable regulation], he is deemed disabled. Fourth, the ALJ determines whether, based on the claimant’s residual functional capacity, the claimant can perform [her] past relevant work, in which case the claimant is not disabled. Fifth, the ALJ determines whether, based on the claimant’s residual functioning capacity, as well as [her] age, education, and work experience, the claimant can make an adjustment to other work, in which case the claimant is not disabled.
The claimant bears the burden of proof during the first four steps, but the burden shifts to the Commissioner at step five.

Id. (citations omitted).

To evaluate Bernola’s residual functional capacity, the ALJ looked to two reports (RFCs) her treating physician provided in October 2010 and October 2012. In the 2010 RFC, the physician assessed Bernola to be “markedly limited” in twelve of twenty RFC categories,3 and “moderately limited” in the remaining eight. (Doc. 13 at 461). She opined Bernola was “unemployable,” and she expected Bernola’s limitations to persist twelve months or more. (Id.).

In the 2012 RFC, the physician diagnosed Bernola with Bipolar II Disorder; PTSD; Personality Disorder, not otherwise specified; and Psychosis, not otherwise specified. (Id. at 517). She described Bernola’s prognosis as “guarded.” (Id.). The physician determined, based on Bernola’s physical and mental limitations, taken in combination, Bernola would be unable to perform a job — i.e., would be “off-task” — only'five percent or less of an eight-hour workday. (Id. at 517). Later in the report, however, the physician concluded Bernola would be unable to obtain and retain full-time work in a competitive work setting. (Id. at 518).

The ALJ found while Bernola had several severe physical and mental impairments, she “does not have an impairment or combination of impairments that meets or [861]*861medically equals the severity of one of the listed impairments in [the applicable regulation].” (Doc. 13 at 20-21, 23, 29-31).

Further, Bernola had “residual functional capacity to perform light work as defined in the [applicable regulation].” (Id.). “Considering [Bernola’s] age, education, work experience, and residual functional capacity, there were jobs that exist in significant numbers in the national economy that [she] can perform.” (Id.) Thus, Bernola “has not been under a disability, as defined in the SSA, since ... the date the application was filed.” (Id.).

The SSA Appeals Council denied Bernola’s request for review, thus rendering the ALJ’s decision the final decision of the Commissioner. (Id. at 1-3).

Bernola now seeks judicial review of the Commissioner’s final decision under 42 U.S.C. §§ 405(g) and 1383(c). She raises two legal issues: 1) “Did the ALJ produce reversible error by refusing to grant the greatest weight to the sole longitudinal health source of record?”; and 2) “[w]as the ALJ’s evaluation of the treating mental health source proeedurally deficient so as to leave that determination not supported by the weight of substantial evidence?” (Doc. 14 at 2).

Standard of Review

When reviewing a Magistrate Judge’s R & R, I make a de novo determination regarding the portions to which plaintiff objects. See 28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(1).

In reviewing the Commissioner’s decision, I must determine whether substantial evidence supports the ALJ’s findings, and whether the ALJ applied the proper legal standards. See 42 U.S.C. § 405(g); Brainard v. Sec’y of Health & Human Servs., 889 F.2d 679, 681 (6th Cir.1989) (citing Richardson v. Perales, 402 U.S. 389, 401, 91 S.Ct. 1420, 28 L.Ed.2d 842 (1971)).

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127 F. Supp. 3d 857, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 119921, 2015 WL 5254997, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/bernola-v-commissioner-of-social-security-ohnd-2015.