Gorayeb v. Astrue

845 F. Supp. 2d 753, 2011 WL 7431648, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 135696
CourtDistrict Court, N.D. West Virginia
DecidedNovember 23, 2011
DocketCivil Action No. 2:11-CV-36
StatusPublished

This text of 845 F. Supp. 2d 753 (Gorayeb v. Astrue) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. West Virginia primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Gorayeb v. Astrue, 845 F. Supp. 2d 753, 2011 WL 7431648, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 135696 (N.D.W. Va. 2011).

Opinion

ORDER ADOPTING REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION

JOHN PRESTON BAILEY, Chief Judge.

On this day, the above-styled matter came before the Court for consideration of the Report and Recommendation (“R & R”) of United States Magistrate Judge James E. Seibert [Doc. 18] and the defendant’s Objections thereto [Doc. 19], Pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(1)(C), this Court is required to make a de novo review of those portions of the magistrate judge’s findings to which objection is made. However, failure to file objections permits the district court to review the R & R under the standards that the district court believes are appropriate, and under these circumstances, the parties’ right to de novo review is waived. See Webb v. Califano, 468 F.Supp. 825 (E.D.Cal.1979). Accordingly, this Court will conduct a de novo review only as to those portions of the R & R to which the plaintiff objected. The remaining portions of the R & R will be reviewed for clear error. As a result, it is the opinion of this Court that the R & R should be ADOPTED.

Background

On April 27, 2011, the plaintiff filed her Complaint [Doc. 1] seeking judicial review of an adverse decision by the Commissioner of Social Security pursuant to 42 U.S.C. §§ 405(g) and 1383(c)(3). Pursuant to the Local Rules, this case was referred to Magistrate Judge Seibert for a recommended disposition. On August 12, 2011, and October 12, 2011, the plaintiff and the defendant filed their respective motions for summary judgment [Docs. 13 & 16]. In support of her motion, the plaintiff asserts three claims of error on the part of the Administrative Law Judge (“ALJ”). In his brief in support of the motion, the defendant responds to each claim and argues that the ALJ’s decision is supported by substantial evidence.

First, the plaintiff asserts that the ALJ erred by failing to attribute proper weight to the opinions of the treating sources and improperly used his own lay opinion [Doc. 13 at 3-6]. Second, the plaintiff asserts that the ALJ erred by failing to have a medical expert at the hearing to provide testimony [Id. at 6]. Third, the plaintiff asserts that the ALJ erred by eliciting testimony from the vocational expert with an incomplete hypothetical [Id. at 7].

In response, the defendant argues that, with regal'd to the first alleged error, “the ALJ considered and properly weighed all [755]*755of the medical evidence provided by Plaintiffs medical sources and the State agency psychologists” [Doc. 17 at 1]. With regard to the alleged second error, the defendant argues that medical expert testimony was not required at the hearing because the “record contained sufficient medical evidence of the severity and resulting functional limitations of [the Claimant’s] impairment ...” [Id]. The defendant argues that, with regard to the third alleged error, “the hypothetical questions that the ALJ posed to the vocational expert at the hearing were supported by the overall medical evidence in the record” [Id.]. As such, the defendant argues that the ALJ’s decision is “supported by substantial evidence” and “should be affirmed” [7d].

On October 24, 2011, Magistrate Judge Seibert recommended that the plaintiffs motion for summary judgment be denied and the defendant’s motion for summary judgment be granted [Doc. 18 at 23]. With regard to the first alleged error, the magistrate judge concluded that the “[c]laimant has [not] identified which source is a ‘treating source’ [that] should have been given more weight” [Id. at 17], “the ALJ had good reason for not giving weight to the assessment completed by Mr. Stoll ...” [Id. at 19], and the “ALJ was not substituting his opinion for those of others, [but] merely resolving a conflict in the evidence, as the law requires him to do” [Id.]. In addition, with regard to the second alleged error, the magistrate judge found that the “ALJ did not interpret the medical data himself, without an expert, but was relying upon the results and conclusions made by the State officials” [Id. at 20]. Furthermore, the magistrate judge concluded that, with regard to the third alleged error, the “ALJ did not pose any improper hypothetical to the [vocational expert]” and the “Claimant has failed to point to any specific limitation that was not included in the hypothetical to the vocational expert ...” [Id. at 22], The magistrate judge also found that the ALJ “explained why he was crediting the State Agency in deciding what limitations to include in the hypothetical” [Id.].

Applicable Standards

I. Judicial Review of an ALJ Decision

Judicial review of a final decision regarding disability benefits is limited to determining whether the findings are supported by substantial evidence and whether the correct law was applied. See 42 U.S.C. § 405(g). “The findings ... as to any fact, if supported by substantial evidence, shall be conclusive.” Richardson v. Perales, 402 U.S. 389, 390, 91 S.Ct. 1420, 28 L.Ed.2d 842 (1971); Coffman v. Bowen, 829 F.2d 514, 517 (4th Cir.1987). The phrase “ ‘supported by substantial evidence’ ” means “ ‘such relevant evidence as a reasonable mind might accept as adequate to support a conclusion.’ ” See Perales, 402 U.S. at 401, 91 S.Ct. 1420 (citing Consolidated Edison Co. v. NLRB, 305 U.S. 197, 229, 59 S.Ct. 206, 83 L.Ed. 126 (1938)). Substantial evidence “consists of more than a mere scintilla of evidence!,] but may be somewhat less than a preponderance .... ” Laws v. Celebrezze, 368 F.2d 640, 642 (4th Cir.1966). Thus, “[i]t is not within the province of a reviewing court to determine the weight of the evidence; nor is it [the court’s] function to substitute [its] judgment ... if [the] decision is supported by substantial evidence.” Id. (citing Snyder v. Ribicoff 307 F.2d 518, 520 (4th Cir.1962)). Ultimately, it is the duty of the ALJ reviewing a case, and not the responsibility of the courts, to make findings of fact and to resolve conflicts in the evidence. King v. Califano, 599 F.2d 597, 599 (4th Cir.1979). “This Court does not find facts or try the case de novo when reviewing disability determinations.” Id.; see also Seacrist v. Weinberger, 538 F.2d 1054, 1056-57 (4th Cir.1976); Hays v. Sullivan, 907 F.2d 1453, 1456 (4th Cir.1990).

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845 F. Supp. 2d 753, 2011 WL 7431648, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 135696, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/gorayeb-v-astrue-wvnd-2011.