Charles Monroe Timmons v. Commissioner of Social Security

522 F. App'x 897
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
DecidedJuly 9, 2013
Docket12-16166
StatusUnpublished
Cited by40 cases

This text of 522 F. App'x 897 (Charles Monroe Timmons v. Commissioner of Social Security) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Charles Monroe Timmons v. Commissioner of Social Security, 522 F. App'x 897 (11th Cir. 2013).

Opinion

PER CURIAM:

Charles Timmons appeals the magistrate judge’s order affirming the Social Security Administration’s denial of his applications for disability insurance benefits, 42 U.S.C. § 405(g), and supplemental security income, 42 U.S.C. § 1383(c)(3). After review, we affirm.

I. BACKGROUND

A. Administrative Hearing

In his applications for benefits, Timmons alleged that he was unable to work as of April 30, 2006, due to his bipolar disorder, personality disorder, and two disc protrusions in his back resulting from a car accident. Timmons’s applications were denied initially and on reconsideration.

Timmons, his mother, and a vocational expert (“VE”) testified at a hearing before an Administrative Law Judge (“ALJ”). Timmons also submitted 22 letters from friends, family members, and former coworkers and employers. The letters were *899 written between October 2007 and October 2009 and described Timmons’s history since childhood of mood swings, manic outbursts, and violent behavior, which has persisted into adulthood. Numerous letter writers stated that Timmons had trouble interacting with other people, could not control what he said or how he acted, and spoke loudly and excessively. Former coworkers and employers also described Timmons’s inability to stay focused on work tasks and his confrontations with coworkers, which made it difficult for Tim-mons to keep a job for long.

B. ALJ’s Decision

After the hearing, the ALJ issued a decision denying Timmons benefits. Following the five-step evaluation process, the ALJ found: (1) Timmons had not engaged in substantial gainful activity from his alleged disability onset date; (2) Timmons had the severe impairments of polysub-stance abuse, schizoaffective disorder, thoracic compression fractures, and a disc bulge at L4-5; (3) Timmons’s impairments, singly or in combination, did not meet or medically equal one of the listed impairments in the regulations; (4) Tim-mons could not perform his past relevant work as an electrician, but had the residual functional capacity (“RFC”) to perform light work except that he required a sit/ stand option and he was limited to simple one- and two-step tasks and to occasional contact with the public, coworkers, and supervisors; and (5) given Timmons’s age, education, work experience, and RFC, there existed jobs in significant numbers in the national economy that Timmons could perform, including tobacco leaf tier, ampoule sealer, and electrical parts assembler.

In concluding that Timmons’s mental impairments did not meet or equal a listed mental impairment, the ALJ found that Timmons had only mild restrictions in activities of daily living and social functioning and moderate difficulties with concentration, persistence, or pace and had experienced one or two episodes of decompensation of extended duration. 1 In doing so, the ALJ noted that the letters Timmons submitted indicated that Timmons had difficulty concentrating and following instructions, had confrontations with coworkers and supervisors, talked incessantly, and had volatile moods. However, two consulting psychologists who had reviewed Tim-mons’s records had concluded that Tim-mons could complete simple and complex tasks within an appropriate time frame and could carry out instructions and adequately relate to others in a work setting.

In determining Timmons’s RFC, the ALJ reviewed the various medical opinions and explained the amount of weight she assigned to each. On appeal, Timmons takes issue with the ALJ’s handling of only two of these medical opinions, the opinions *900 of Dr. Alvan Barber and Dr. Najib Kirma-ni, consultants who examined Timmons.

Dr. Barber conducted two separate physical examinations. After a September 2007 examination, Dr. Barber noted, inter alia, that Timmons: (1) had 5/5 muscle strength in both his upper and lower extremities; (2) had 5/5 grip strength, but he had no deep tendon reflexes; (3) had no point tenderness in his sacroiliac joints; (4) felt pain when, in a supine position, his leg was raised to 90 degrees, but he had a negative Lasegue’s Test; (5) was able to walk on his heels, walk on his toes, and squat; and (6) had a negative Romberg sign. Dr. Barber concluded that Timmons could walk, stand, and sit for a reasonable amount of time without discomfort. However, according to Dr. Barber, Timmons could be limited in his ability to lift and carry heavy objects.

At a second, April 2008 examination, Dr. Barber reported that Timmons: (1) had not received treatment or medication for his back pain since 2006, and he had incontinence approximately once a week; (2) heard a popping noise in his spine; and (3) again felt pain when, in a supine position, his leg was raised, but his Lasegue’s Test was negative. Dr. Barber came to the same conclusion regarding Timmons’s ability to walk, stand, sit, and lift and carry heavy objects as he had in 2007, but Dr. Barber also noted that Timmons was unable to squat and Timmons’s symptoms might be exacerbated by his excess weight.

Dr. Kirmani conducted a psychiatric evaluation. Dr. Kirmani’s report noted, inter alia, that Timmons: (1) was appropriately dressed and groomed and was able to relate to and cooperate with Dr. Kirmani; (2) was alert, had no speech or psychomotor abnormalities, and had a normal mood; (3) was fully oriented, had no hallucinations, had intact memory and judgment, and adequate insight. Dr. Kir-mani concluded that Timmons did not have a psychotic reaction, had no deterioration in personal habits, had no impaired ability to relate to Dr. Kirmani, and had no identified intellectual deterioration. Dr. Kir-mani opined that Timmons had depressive disorder, but that Timmons was able to make personal and social adjustments and had the ability to understand, remember, and carry out instructions.

The ALJ gave “great weight” to these two doctors’ medical opinions. The ALJ explained that she did so because their opinions were “consistent with the medical evidence of record and are supported by the record as a whole” and because “the doctors had the opportunity to personally examine the claimant before forming their opinions.”

C. Appeals Council’s Denial of Review

Timmons filed a request for review with the Appeals Council and submitted new evidence. To his appeal brief, Timmons attached three additional letters from people who had witnessed Timmons’s continued problems with social functioning.

Timmons also submitted a mental health evaluation conducted by Carol Beall, a licensed clinical social worker, on November 23, 2010, several months after the ALJ issued her decision.

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522 F. App'x 897, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/charles-monroe-timmons-v-commissioner-of-social-security-ca11-2013.