Haseler v. Acting Commissioner of Social Security

33 F. App'x 631
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Third Circuit
DecidedApril 8, 2002
Docket01-3359
StatusUnknown

This text of 33 F. App'x 631 (Haseler v. Acting Commissioner of 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
Haseler v. Acting Commissioner of Social Security, 33 F. App'x 631 (3d Cir. 2002).

Opinion

OPINION OF THE COURT

SLOVITER, Circuit Judge.

I.

Appellant Karen Haseler applied for disability insurance benefits and supplemental security income benefits on January 19, 1996, alleging disability due to respiratory impairments including emphysema and asthma. The Commissioner of Social Security denied her application and her request for reconsideration. In response to Haseler’s request, a hearing was held before an Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) who found Haseler ineligible for benefits. The Appeals Council denied her request for review and Haseler brought a civil action in the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 405(g). The District Court found that the decision of the Commissioner was supported by substantial evidence and entered judgment. Haseler timely appealed.

Under the requirements of 20 C.F.R. §§ 404.1520 and 416.920, a five-step, sequential analysis must be conducted before a claimant may qualify for benefits. The ALJ found that Haseler had not been engaged in substantial gainful activity since July 4, 1995 and thus met the burden for step one. The ALJ concluded that Haseler suffered from a respiratory disorder that “had more than a slight affect [sic] on her ability to perform basic work activities and which is, therefore, ‘severe,’ ” meeting the burden of step two. App. at 26. However, in considering whether Haseler’s impairment was listed or the equivalent of a listed impairment under 20 C.F.R. Part 404, Subpart P, Appendix 1, the ALJ found that the burden had not been met because 1) her spirometric results failed to meet the relevant requirements, and 2) she had faded to produce any documentation of episodic asthma attacks requiring emergency treatment or hospitalization.

*633 Having determined that Haseler had failed to meet the burden of step three, the ALJ proceeded to step four, finding that a recitation of Haseler’s medical history, documentation of symptoms, and the evaluations of the various examining physicians failed to indicate a level of impairment beyond that of moderate impairment. The ALJ concluded that Haseler could still perform light work in the national economy and found that Haseler’s two previous occupations, waitress and deli clerk, qualified as light work. As a result, the ALJ concluded that Haseler was still capable of performing her previous work and was not disabled under 20 C.F.R. §§ 404.1520(f) and 416.920(f). Having reached this conclusion, the ALJ was not required to proceed to step five.

II.

We must uphold the findings of fact of the Commissioner if those findings are supported in the record by “substantial evidence.” 42 U.S.C. § 405(g); see also Plummer v. Apfel, 186 F.3d 422, 427 (3d Cir.1999). The Supreme Court has defined substantial evidence as “more than a mere scintilla.” Richardson v. Perales, 402 U.S. 389, 401, 91 S.Ct. 1420, 28 L.Ed.2d 842 (1971). This standard does not require “a large or considerable amount of evidence, but rather ‘such relevant evidence as a reasonable mind might accept as adequate to support a conclusion.’ ” Pierce v. Underwood, 487 U.S. 552, 564-65, 108 S.Ct. 2541, 101 L.Ed.2d 490 (1988) (quoting Consolidated Edison Co. v. NLRB, 305 U.S. 197, 229, 59 S.Ct. 206, 83 L.Ed. 126 (1938)). If the evidence in the record supports more than one reasonable interpretation, deference is given to the Commissioner’s findings. Alexander v. Shalala, 927 F.Supp. 785, 791 (D.N.J.1995), aff 'd, 85 F.3d 611 (3d Cir.1996).

The ALJ’s determination was supported by substantial evidence. The ALJ heard Haseler’s testimony and reviewed her medical records before concluding that, although Haseler has a “severe” respiratory impairment, she retains the residual functional capacity to perform her past relevant work. The medical records introduced into evidence revealed that Haseler’s initial diagnosis at the Garfield Clinic was emphysema and an enlarged liver. Further visits yielded a diagnosis of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. A chest x-ray revealed no acute pathology, but further testing revealed mild obstructive airway disease and a mild response to bronchodialators, drugs that improve ventilation to the lungs. Haseler was given a spirometric examination, which evaluates the amount of air inhaled and exhaled by the patient in order to assess residual lung capacity, and received an assessment of 74% of predicted values.

The Social Security Administration had two consulting physicians examine Haseler and both diagnosed her with asthmatic bronchitis and an enlarged liver. During her administrative appeal, Haseler was also examined by both a physician and a disability examiner who found no grounds for reversal of the ALJ’s decision. Haseler’s residual physical functional capacity assessment concluded that Haseler could occasionally lift 50 pounds and frequently lift 25 pounds, while working, sitting, or standing for six hours per day. App. at 9-10.

Haseler asserts three claims in her brief: 1) that the ALJ omitted, ignored, and fabricated evidence; 2) that the ALJ’s decision violated the doctrine laid out by this court in Cotter v. Harris, 642 F.2d 700 (3d Cir.1981); and 3) that the ALJ improperly evaluated her subjective complaints of pain, contrary to the mandated practice of *634 the Social Security Administration. Appellant’s Br. at 3.

Haseler is correct that the ALJ’s published decision has several errors of fact. The ALJ’s decision incorrectly states that Haseler regularly climbed four flights of stairs to reach her apartment when she testified that she was only able to reach her apartment by using the building’s elevator. App. at 28. The ALJ also stated that Haseler had not been prescribed steroids for her condition, which was contrary to the medical evidence of record. App. at 27. However, these two misstatements do not indicate that the ALJ fabricated evidence, nor does it appear that the ALJ omitted or ignored any substantive evidence. The misstatements cited are not dispositive and do not warrant reversal in light of the substantial evidence in support of the ALJ’s decision.

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33 F. App'x 631, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/haseler-v-acting-commissioner-of-social-security-ca3-2002.