Helms v. Berryhill

362 F. Supp. 3d 294
District Court, W.D. North Carolina·Decided January 23, 2019·No. DOCKET NO. 3:17-CV-706-MR·Published·Cited by 1 cases

Opinion

Martin Reidinger, United States District Judge

THIS MATTER is before the Court on the Plaintiff's Motion for Summary Judgment [Doc. 11] and the Defendant's Motion for Summary Judgment [Doc. 14].

I. PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

The Plaintiff, Darlene M. Helms ("Plaintiff"), asserts that her peripheral neuropathy and degenerative disc disease constitute physical impairments under the Social Security Act (the "Act") rendering her disabled. On May 7, 2014, the Plaintiff filed an application for disability insurance benefits under Title II and Title XVIII of the Act, alleging an onset date of December 30, 2011. [Transcript ("T.") at 157]. The Plaintiff's application was denied initially and upon reconsideration. [T. at 81, 91]. Upon Plaintiff's request, a hearing was held on March 20, 2017, before an Administrative Law Judge ("ALJ"). [T. at 29-48]. Present at the hearing were the Plaintiff, the Plaintiff's attorney, and a vocational expert ("VE"). [T. at 29]. On April 11, 2017, the ALJ issued a decision, wherein the ALJ concluded that the Plaintiff was not disabled. [T. at 12-21]. On October 6, 2017, the Appeals Council denied the Plaintiff's request for review [T. at 1], thereby making the ALJ's decision the final decision of the Commissioner. The Plaintiff has exhausted all available administrative remedies, and this case is now ripe for review pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 405(g).

*298II. STANDARD OF REVIEW

The Court's review of a final decision of the Commissioner is limited to (1) whether substantial evidence supports the Commissioner's decision, Richardson v. Perales, 402 U.S. 389, 401, 91 S.Ct. 1420, 28 L.Ed.2d 842 (1971) ; and (2) whether the Commissioner applied the correct legal standards, Hays v. Sullivan, 907 F.2d 1453, 1456 (4th Cir. 1990). "When examining [a Social Security Administration] disability determination, a reviewing court is required to uphold the determination when an ALJ has applied correct legal standards and the ALJ's factual findings are supported by substantial evidence." Bird v. Comm'r, 699 F.3d 337, 340 (4th Cir. 2012). "Substantial evidence is such relevant evidence as a reasonable mind might accept as adequate to support a conclusion." Johnson v. Barnhart, 434 F.3d 650, 653 (4th Cir. 2005) (internal quotation marks omitted). "It consists of more than a mere scintilla of evidence but may be less than a preponderance." Hancock v. Astrue, 667 F.3d 470, 472 (4th Cir. 2012) (internal quotation marks omitted).

"In reviewing for substantial evidence, [the Court should] not undertake to reweigh conflicting evidence, make credibility determinations, or substitute [its] judgment for that of the ALJ." Johnson, 434 F.3d at 653 (internal quotation marks and alteration omitted). Rather, "[w]here conflicting evidence allows reasonable minds to differ," the Court defers to the ALJ's decision. Id. (internal quotation marks omitted). To enable judicial review for substantial evidence, "[t]he record should include a discussion of which evidence the ALJ found credible and why, and specific application of the pertinent legal requirements to the record evidence." Radford v. Colvin, 734 F.3d 288, 295 (4th Cir. 2013).

III. THE SEQUENTIAL EVALUATION PROCESS

A "disability" entitling a claimant to benefits under the Social Security Act, as relevant here, is "[the] inability to engage in any substantial gainful activity by reason of any medically determinable physical or mental impairment which can be expected to result in death or which has lasted or can be expected to last for a continuous period of not less than 12 months." 42 U.S.C. § 423(d)(1)(A). The Social Security Administration regulations set out a detailed five-step process for reviewing applications for disability. 20 C.F.R. §§ 404.1520, 416.920 ; Mascio v. Colvin, 780 F.3d 632, 634 (4th Cir. 2015). "If an applicant's claim fails at any step of the process, the ALJ need not advance to the subsequent steps." Pass v. Chater, 65 F.3d 1200, 1203 (4th Cir. 1995) (citation omitted). The burden is on the claimant to make the requisite showing at the first four steps. Id.

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Helms v. Berryhill, 362 F. Supp. 3d 294 (W.D.N.C. 2019).

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