Boehm v. Chater

969 F. Supp. 31, 1997 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 10296, 1997 WL 264435
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. Iowa
DecidedFebruary 19, 1997
DocketCivil No. 3-96-CV-10078
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 969 F. Supp. 31 (Boehm v. Chater) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. Iowa primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Boehm v. Chater, 969 F. Supp. 31, 1997 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 10296, 1997 WL 264435 (S.D. Iowa 1997).

Opinion

ORDER

LONGSTAFF, District Judge.

Plaintiff Sherry Boehm seeks review of the Commissioner of Social Security’s decision granting her limited Social Security benefits. Claimant asserts she is entitled to full benefits under both Title II of the Social Security Act (Disability Insurance Benefits) and Title XVI of the Social Security Act (Supplemental Security Income). Pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 405(g) and 42 U.S.C. § 1383(c)(3), this Court may review the final decision of the Commissioner.

I. PROCEDURAL HISTORY

Boehm filed her applications for disability insurance benefits and SSI benefits on October 22,1993, alleging disability since October 16, 1992. These applications were denied initially and on reconsideration.

Pursuant to a timely request, a hearing was held on February 16, 1995, before an Administrative Law Judge (“ALJ”). On April 25, 1995, an ALJ determined that Boehm was entitled to benefits beginning October 16, 1992. In addition, the ALJ determined that Boehm’s drug addiction was a contributing factor material to the determination of disability. As a result, Boehm was required to have treatment for her drug addiction and her benefits were limited to a 36 month period.1 On April 26, 1996, the Appeals Council denied Boehm’s request for review. This action for review of the Commissioner’s decision was commenced May 28, 1996.

II. FINDINGS OF THE SECRETARY

The ALJ made the following findings. (A.R. 16-21). The claimant met the insured status requirements of the Act on the date disability began and has not engaged in substantial gainful activity at any time pertinent to this decision.

The medical evidence establishes that Boehm has a severe dysthymic disorder, a dissociative disorder, anxiety with panic attacks, a substance abuse disorder, a borderline personality, migraine headaches, and asthma. These impairments do not meet or equal in severity the requirements of any impairment set out in Appendix 1, Subpart P, Regulations No. 4 (the Listing of Impairments).

The ALJ also determined that the allegations of Boehm were generally credible and that her impairments preclude her from work as follows:

She will have absences for one or two days per month due to her headaches. She may abruptly walk off the job due to anxiety. She is moderately limited in her ability to understand/remember/and carry out detailed instructions, to maintain attention and concentration for extended periods, to sustain an ordinary routine without special supervision, to complete a normal workday and workweek without interruptions from psychologically based symptoms and to perform at a consistent pace without an unreasonable number and length of rest periods, to accept instructions and respond appropriately to criticism from supervi[33]*33sors, to get along with co-workers or peers without distracting them or exhibiting behavioral extremes, to maintain socially appropriate behavior, to adhere to basic standards of neatness and cleanliness, to respond appropriately to changes in the workplace, and to set realistic goals or make plans independently of others.

The ALJ also found that Boehm cannot perform her past relevant work. On the date of the disability onset, October 16, 1992, Boehm was 38 years old, defined as a younger individual under the Act. Boehm has a high school education. The ALJ determined that she has not acquired work skills which are transferable to the skilled or semi-skilled functions of other jobs. In addition, the ALJ determined that, based on the vocational expert testimony and Boehm’s residual functional capacity and vocational factors, Boehm cannot be expected to make a vocational adjustment to work which exists in significant numbers in the national economy.

Finally, the ALJ concluded that the claimant had been under a “disability,” as defined in the Act, since October 16,1992. The ALJ also determined that Boehm’s drug addiction is a contributing factor material to the determination of disability and she was therefore entitled to only limited benefits.

III. DISCUSSION OF APPLICABLE LAW

A court must affirm the decision of the Secretary if substantial evidence on the record as a whole supports the decision. 42 U.S.C. § 405(g). “Substantial evidence is that which a reasonable mind might accept as adequate to support the Secretary’s conclusion.” Whitehouse v. Sullivan, 949 F.2d 1005, 1007 (8th Cir.1991). A court may not reverse merely because substantial evidence would have supported an opposite decision. Locher v. Sullivan, 968 F.2d 725, 727 (8th Cir.1992).

Boehm argues that the Commissioner’s decision in the present ease is erroneous for several reasons. First, Boehm indicates that she did not receive notice that the materiality of her drug addiction in relation to her disability would be an issue. Second, Boehm asserts that the Psychiatric Review Technique Form required by the Commissioner’s regulations was not completed. Finally, Boehm states that the Commissioner’s decision is not supported by substantial evidence on the record as a whole.

On March 29, 1996, Congress amended the Social Security Act to eliminate alcoholism or drug addiction as a basis for obtaining disability benefits. Newton v. Chater, 92 F.3d 688, 696 n. 3 (8th Cir.1996) (citing Contract with America Advancement Act of 1996, Pub.L. No. 104-121, 110 Stat. 847, 852- 53 (amending 42 U.S.C. § 423(d)(2))). Under the amendment, for claims decided by the Commissioner before March 29, 1996, as in the present case, disability benefits on, or after, January 1, 1997 may not be based on drug addiction. Id. (citing 110 Stat. at 853- 54). Specifically, the amendment states that a person is precluded from receiving disability benefits after January 1, 1997, if drug addiction or alcoholism was a “contributing factor material” to in the Commissioner’s determination that an individual is disabled. 110 Stat. at 852. The regulations interpreting this amendment state that “[t]he key factor we will examine in determining whether drug addiction or alcoholism is a contributing factor material to the determination of disability is whether we would still find you disabled if you stopped using drugs or alcohol.” 20 C.F.R. §§ 404.1535(b)(1) and 416.935(b)(1); See Davis v. Chater, 952 F.Supp. 561, 567 (N.D.Ill.1996) (“In determining whether drug addiction ... is a contributing material factor to a finding of disability, the Commissioner’s regulations provide that such a finding turns on whether the individual would be disabled independent of drug addiction ....

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Bluebook (online)
969 F. Supp. 31, 1997 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 10296, 1997 WL 264435, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/boehm-v-chater-iasd-1997.