Erin Grogan v. Frank Bisignano, Commissioner of Social Security

District Court, E.D. Missouri·Decided March 31, 2026·No. 4:25-cv-00224·Unknown

Opinion

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT EASTERN DISTRICT OF MISSOURI EASTERN DIVISION

ERIN GROGAN, ) ) Plaintiff, ) ) v. ) No. 4:25 CV 224 RWS ) FRANK BISIGNANO, ) Commissioner of Social Security, ) ) Defendant. )

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER

Erin Grogan brings this action pursuant to 42 U.S.C. §§ 405(g) seeking judicial review of the Commissioner’s decision denying her application for disability benefits under the Social Security Disability Insurance Program (SSDI), Title II of the Social Security Act, 42 U.S.C. §§ 401-434 and for benefits under the Supplemental Security Income Program (SSI), Title XVI of the Social Security Act, 42 U.S.C. §§ 1381-1385. For the reasons set forth below, I will affirm the decision of the Commissioner. Procedural History Plaintiff Erin Grogan was born on December 20, 1977. (Tr. 227) 1 She is

currently 48 years old. Grogan completed two years of college earning an associate degree in mass communication. (Tr. 292 and 646) In the past several years before she applied for disability benefits Grogan worked in retail businesses

and as a bookkeeper for her husband’s lawncare business. (Tr. 292-293) Grogan had employment earnings of $1883.18 in 2019 and $3,247.70 in 2020. (Tr. 260) Grogan has not engaged in substantial gainful employment since April 2, 2021, the alleged onset date of her disability. (Tr. 37)

Grogan protectively filed a Title II application for a period of disability and disability insurance benefits and a Title XVI application for supplemental security income on July 21, 2022. (Tr. 216) She alleged her disability began on April 2,

2021. (Id.) Grogan’s applications were initially denied on February 10, 2023. (Tr. 135) The applications were denied again upon reconsideration on June 30, 2023. (Tr. 143) On August 15, 2023, Grogan filed a request for a hearing before an Administrative Law Judge (ALJ). (Tr. 151) The ALJ held a hearing on March 19,

2024. (Tr. 35-46) In her Function Report, completed on June 28, 2022, Grogan asserted that she was unable to work based on a learning disability (“limits how fast I work”),

1 Citations to the transcript (Tr.) use the page numbers assigned to the documents in the Court’s ECF docket sheet. anxiety, and depression. (Tr. 264) Her Disability Report, completed on October 28, 2022, lists the following medical conditions that limit her ability to work:

depression; anxiety; language disorder; “impairment math;” chronic migraines; delayed motor function; stress; attention deficit disorder; and “reaction time.” (Tr. 291) Grogan takes the following medications: gabapentin, nortriptyline,

indomethacin, promethazine, lessina, and atenolol for migraine relief; meloxicam for tendonitis relief; sertraline for depression; and buspirone for anxiety. (Tr. 356). At the hearing before the ALJ, Grogan testified she has a migraine headache every morning when she wakes up and “pretty much every day before I go to bed.” (Tr.

57) She testified that she take atenolo and gabapentin to treat her migraines. The medication helps with her migraines. She stated that around the time of her disability onset date, she was involved in a car accident that exacerbated her

preexisting anxiety and headaches. (Tr. 56) She sometimes puts a pack of ice on her head to relieve symptoms. If she tries to stay “relax[ed] and focused on one particular thing [it] helps a lot of times,” and keeps the migraines away so she can do her daily activities. (Tr. 59)

Grogan testified that she makes dinners from recipes but lately she has been depressed which keeps her from doing things around the house. (Tr. 60) She stated that she and her husband are both home every day but that she can take care

of her personal needs like getting up and getting dressed. Her only concern was that she has to have a reminder to take her medicine every day for her anxiety and migraines. (Id.) She can open bottles and carry a gallon of milk and grocery shop.

But when she gets home she takes breaks putting her groceries away because she gets tired. She was diagnosed with scoliosis when she was in grade school and had rods placed in her back. Her hips, knees, and ankles hurt from when she is on her

feet for a couple of hours at work. (Tr. 61) She helped her husband in the past performing yard work for his lawncare business. (Tr. 63) She also did the bookkeeping for her husband’s business. (Tr. 66) Grogan testified that she and her husband no longer work. (Tr. 63)

Grogan testified that she suffers from anxiety and sees a counselor who has provided her with some coping skills. When she experiences anxiety she wants to get up and pace the room even though she knows that she should not be doing that.

(Tr. 63-64) She is concerned that if someone happens to trigger her anxiety in the workplace she won’t be able to walk away in order to control it. (Tr. 65) She testified that she gets anxiety when she goes to the store and in public settings, and once, there was a point when she would feel safer in her own home than being in a

store because her “anxiety was at an all-time high.” (Id.) Grogan testified she had previously worked as a clerk at Good Will and entered inventory into a computer. She stated that she was told she was working

too slowly which triggered her anxiety causing her stress and to have migraines. (Tr. 67) She testified that when she got migraines at Good Will she needed to stop what she was doing. (Tr. 69-70) Good Will accommodated her by letting her stop

work or to go home. (Tr. 70) Good Will terminated Grogan’s employment when she had an altercation with a supervisor over processing donated shoes. (Tr. 71) (She allegedly called her supervisor inappropriate names which led to her

termination. (Tr. 113)) Grogan was employed at some point at Panera but it did not work out because she was being pressured to complete tasks quickly, which she could not do. (Tr. 72) She sometimes has trouble completing tasks because “other things get in the way.” (Tr. 72) She can feel overwhelmed even with daily

tasks when “several things [are] going on at once.” (Tr. 73) When cleaning her house she uses timers to alert her how long to work on a task and when to take breaks. (Id.) She uses relaxation techniques / breaks to relieve her headaches.

When she uses ice packs on her head to relieve her migraines she is usually in bed for the whole day. This can happen about three times per month. (Tr. 74) On April 3, 2024, the ALJ issued a decision finding that Grogan was not disabled and that she could perform light work. The ALJ found that Grogan could

perform jobs that exist in significant numbers in the national economy. (Tr. 45-46) On January 10, 2025, the Appeals Council denied Grogan’s request for review. (Tr. 21) The ALJ’s decision is now the final decision of the Commissioner. 42

U.S.C. §§ 405(g). In this action for judicial review, Grogan contends that the ALJ failed to fully and fairly develop the record and that the RFC determination is not supported

by substantial evidence. Grogan requests that I reverse the Commissioner’s final decision and remand this matter for further evaluation. For the reasons that follow, I will deny Grogan’s request to remand this matter for further proceedings.

Medical Records and Other Evidence Before the ALJ With respect to the medical records and other evidence of record, I adopt Grogan’s statement of material facts (ECF # 16-1) as admitted by the Commissioner and the Commissioner’s additional material facts (ECF # 19-1).

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Erin Grogan v. Frank Bisignano, Commissioner of Social Security, (E.D. Mo. 2026).

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