Engebrecht v. Commissioner of Social Security

572 F. App'x 392
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
DecidedJuly 14, 2014
Docket13-2418
StatusUnpublished
Cited by27 cases

This text of 572 F. App'x 392 (Engebrecht v. Commissioner of Social Security) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Engebrecht v. Commissioner of Social Security, 572 F. App'x 392 (6th Cir. 2014).

Opinion

GRIFFIN, Circuit Judge.

Karen Engebrecht appeals an adverse decision of an Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) denying her Social Security Disability Insurance Benefits (DIB). The district court held that the decision by the ALJ was supported by substantial evidence based upon the proper legal standard and therefore granted summary judgment in favor of defendant Commissioner of Social Security. We agree and affirm.

I.

Engebrecht’s claims are based on her numerous psychological ailments, most prominently severe depression. She has been treating with Dr. Sachin Nagarkar, a psychiatrist, for these conditions for many years. In addition to Dr. Nagarkar, Enge-brecht regularly attends sessions with Deborah Hastings, M.A., a licensed therapist. Hastings works for Bay Psychological Associates, a psychology practice run by William Nicholson, Ph.D. Both Dr. Na-garkar and Hastings opined repeatedly that Engebrecht’s psychological conditions were permanent and serious. Hastings’ opinions took the form of letters cosigned by her and Dr. Nicholson, although the record is devoid of any evidence that En-gebrecht was ever treated by Dr. Nicholson. Engebrecht took a variety of medications for her conditions and in 1999 was even hospitalized as a result of her depression. Dr. Nagarkar and Hastings have stated that Engebrecht is incapable of any and all work. A consulting psychologist, Dr. Robert Plummer, agreed that Enge-brecht’s conditions were severe, but opined that she could work with restrictions on her interactions with coworkers and supervisors.

Engebrecht’s prior employment consisted mainly of clerical work in various offices in Bay County, Michigan government, which she left due to her inability to cope with the stresses of those jobs. After she left the county government, Engebrecht had seasonal employment in the retail sector. In her spare time, Engebrecht enjoyed numerous activities such as horseback riding, rollerblading, and jazzercise. Dr. Nagarkar had encouraged Engebrecht to engage in physical activity.

At her hearing before the ALJ, Enge-brecht testified, as did Michelle Robb, a vocational expert. Robb testified that a hypothetical person with Engebrecht’s profile could not perform Engebrecht’s past clerical work. However, Robb indicated that there were jobs that the hypothetical person could perform: low-stress jobs that would involve minimal contact with the public and only superficial contact with supervisors or coworkers. These jobs included dishwasher (for which there were 900 jobs in Michigan), inspector (for which there were 10,000 jobs in Michigan), and assembler (for which there were 34,-000 jobs in Michigan).

The ALJ concluded that Engebrecht was not disabled and denied benefits. The ALJ’s decision followed the standard five-step analysis prescribed by the Social Security Act:

*395 First, plaintiff must demonstrate that she is not currently engaged in “substantial gainful activity” at the time she seeks disability benefits. [Abbott v. Sullivan, 905 F.2d 918, 923 (6th Cir.1990) ] (citing 20 C.F.R. §§ 404.1520(b) and 416.920(b)(2000)).
Second, plaintiff must show that she suffers from a “severe impairment” in order to warrant a finding of disability. A “severe impairment” is one which “significantly limits ... physical or mental ability to do basic work activities.” Id. (citing 20 C.F.R. §§ 404.1520(c) and 416.920(c)(2000)).
Third, if plaintiff is not performing substantial gainful activity, has a severe impairment that is expected to last for at least twelve months, and the impairment meets a listed impairment, plaintiff is presumed to be disabled regardless of age, education or work experience. 20 C.F.R. §§ 404.1520(d) and 416.920(d)(2000).
Fourth, if the plaintiffs impairment does not prevent her from doing her past relevant work, plaintiff is not disabled. For the fifth and final step, even if the plaintiffs impairment does prevent her from doing her past relevant work, if other work exists in the national economy that plaintiff can perform, plaintiff is not disabled. Abbott, 905 F.2d at 923.

Heston v. Comm’r of Soc. Sec., 245 F.3d 528, 534 (6th Cir.2001). At the first step, the ALJ determined that Engebrecht last met the insured status requirements of the Act in December 2003 and had not engaged in gainful activity from October 1997 through December 2003. At step two, the ALJ found that Engebrecht “had the following ‘severe’ impairments: (1) dysthemia with recurrent depression; (2) borderline intellectual function; and (3) personality disorder with avoidant features (20 C.F.R. 404.1520(c)).” At the third step, the ALJ determined that Engebrecht did not meet or equal one of the listed impairments in regulations.

Next, the ALJ assessed Engebrecht’s residual functional capacity (RFC), which is defined as the “most [a claimant] can do despite [the claimant’s] limitations.” 20 C.F.R. 404.1545(a)(1). The ALJ determined that Engebrecht

had the maximal residual functional capacity ... to perform a full range of work at all exertional levels but with the following nonexertional limitations: (a) [Engebrecht] was limited to simple, routine and repetitive work activities performed in a stable, low-stress environment; and (b) the claimant was maximally limited to superficial contact with supervisors and coworkers, and should not work with the general public.

In support of this conclusion, the ALJ noted:

The undersigned [the ALJ] appreciates the input provided by Dr. [sic] Hastings and Dr. Nagarkar with regard to [Enge-brecht’s] mental difficulties, and, moreover, agrees with them that [Enge-brecht] has significant mental difficulties with work-related activity. However, these difficulties appear to have manifested most starkly, and almost exclusively, in the context of a high-stress job which required significant interactions with less than sympathetic coworkers and supervisors. Though [Enge-brecht’s] baseline mental difficulties may not have improved significantly despite treatment, as these practitioners assert, the fact that [Engebrecht] was able to perform semi-skilled work for many years despite her mental symptoms (which, Dr. [sic] Hastings writes, have persisted since 1987) and the fact that [Engebrecht] remained capable of a wide range of activities outside her work [including horseback riding and jazzer- *396 cise] indicate strongly that [Engebrecht] could perform her work activities with mental requirements of a far less strenuous nature than those at play in her previous job.

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572 F. App'x 392, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/engebrecht-v-commissioner-of-social-security-ca6-2014.