Claudia Winward v. Commissioner Social Security

629 F. App'x 393
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Third Circuit
DecidedNovember 10, 2015
Docket14-4665
StatusUnpublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 629 F. App'x 393 (Claudia Winward v. Commissioner Social Security) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Claudia Winward v. Commissioner Social Security, 629 F. App'x 393 (3d Cir. 2015).

Opinion

OPINION *

FISHER, Circuit Judge.

Claudia Winward appeals the District Court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of the Commissioner of Social Security affirming the Commissioner’s denial of Winward’s disability benefits. We will affirm.

I.

We write principally for the parties, who are familiar with the factual context and légal history of the case. Therefore, we will set forth only those facts that are necessary to our analysis.

In April 2006, Winward applied for Social Security Disability Insurance Benefits for the period of July 1, 2000, through March 31, 2003 (hereinafter “relevant time period”). Winward claimed that she suffered from depression and anxiety that limited her ability to work. Winward’s application was denied, so she requested a hearing before an administrative law judge (“ALJ”).

In order to detei’mine whether Winward was disabled, the ALJ employed the Social Security Administration’s five-part test. 1 Pertinent to this appeal, the ALJ considered: treatment notes from the relevant time period from Dr. Zorach, Winward’s treating physician; a check-the-box questionnaire completed by Dr. Zorach in 2007 — four years after the relevant time period ended; Winward’s own statements regarding her condition; and the opinions of two physicians, Dr. Simon and Dr. Abashidze, based on examinations conducted in 2009. The ALJ also employed a hypothetical question directed to a vocational expert in order to determine whether Winward had the residual functional capacity to perform jobs that exist in the national economy.

Following the hearing, the ALJ found that Winward (1) is not currently engaged in substantial gainful activity; (2) has severe impairments due to depression; (3) does not have a medical impairment that meets or is the medical equivalent of the listed impairments; (4) does not have the residual functional capacity to perform past relevant work; and (5) has the residual functional capacity to perform sedentary to light work in jobs that exist in significant numbers in the national economy. Thus, because she failed the final step, the ALJ concluded that Winward was not disabled and denied her application. Win-ward requested review of the ALJ’s decision, which the Appeals Council denied, making it the Commissioner’s final decision.

Winward sought review in the District Court, which granted the Commissioner’s motion for summary judgment, holding that the ALJ's findings were supported by substantial evidence. Winward timely appealed.

II.

The District Court had jurisdiction under 42 U.S.C. §§ 405(g) and 1383(c)(3). *395 We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291. We exercise plenary review over the Commissioner’s legal conclusions and review the Commissioner’s factual findings for substantial evidence, which is “such relevant evidence as a reasonable mind might accept as adequate to support a conclusion.” 2 In reviewing the evidence, we may not weigh the evidence or substitute our own view for that of the Commissioner. 3

III.

Winward presents two arguments on appeal: (1) the ALJ did not afford the proper weight to her treating physician’s opinion; and (2) the ALJ’s hypothetical question to the vocational expert did not reflect all of Winward’s impairments.'

1.

Winward first contends that the ALJ’s decision is not supported by substantial evidence because the ALJ improperly weighed the opinions of Winward’s physicians. Specifically, she argues that the ALJ should have afforded controlling weight to her treating physician, Dr. Zo-rach, and no weight to Dr. Simon, who observed Winward in 2009.

Where a treating physician’s opinion is “well-supported by medically acceptable clinical and laboratory diagnostic techniques and is not inconsistent with the other substantial evidence in [the record],” it will be given “controlling weight.” 4 When presented with conflicting evidence, the ALJ “may choose whom to credit but ‘cannot reject evidence for no reason or for the wrong reason.’ ” 5 An ALJ “may afford a treating physician’s opinion more or less weight depending upon the extent to which supporting explanations are provided.” 6

The ALJ did not give controlling weight to Dr. Zorach’s opinion, as expressed in the questionnaire, because it was “not well supported by medical signs and laboratory findings and [was] inconsistent with his detailed treatment records.” 7 As the ALJ explained, Dr. Zorach’s questionnaire conflicts, not only with the opinions of other experts, but also with his own opinion as expressed in his treatment notes from the relevant time period. These notes documented that Winward “performed some household chores and was working part-time as a floral designer and planning to start her own business.” 8 Dr. Zorach’s notes also reported that she experienced mild to moderate restrictions with respect to activities of daily living and her concentration, persistence, and pace and that Winward’s condition was improving, as her depression and anxiety lessened with treatment.

In addition to Dr. Zorach’s notes from the relevant time period, Dr. Zorach’s questionnaire was also inconsistent with the evidence in the record. The ALJ considered the opinion of Dr. .Simon, who personally examined Winward, and Win-ward’s own statements regarding her abilities. Dr. Simon opined that Winward was “capable of managing benefits, making de *396 cisions, adapting to different circumstances ... as well as exercising judgment, insight, and common sense.” 9 These conclusions were based, in part, on Winward’s own statements to Dr. Simon that she was able to perform chores, cook, and maintain relationships with others. Because Dr. Zorach’s questionnaire conflicts with Win-ward’s own statements, Dr. Simon’s conclusions, and Dr. Zorach’s treatment notes from the relevant time period, the ALJ was not required to give it controlling weight. The ALJ reasonably relied on the medical evidence in the record as a whole to determine that Winward was not disabled. Therefore, we conclude that the ALJ did not err in concluding that Dr. Zorach’s questionnaire is not entitled to controlling weight.

2.

Winward next argues that the ALJ’s hypothetical question to the vocational expert did not sufficiently include all of Winward’s limitations.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
629 F. App'x 393, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/claudia-winward-v-commissioner-social-security-ca3-2015.