Hidalgo-Rosa v. Colvin

40 F. Supp. 3d 240, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 121144, 2014 WL 4243530
CourtDistrict Court, D. Puerto Rico
DecidedAugust 28, 2014
DocketCivil No. 13-1373 (SEC)
StatusPublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 40 F. Supp. 3d 240 (Hidalgo-Rosa v. Colvin) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Puerto Rico primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Hidalgo-Rosa v. Colvin, 40 F. Supp. 3d 240, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 121144, 2014 WL 4243530 (prd 2014).

Opinion

OPINION AND ORDER

SALVADOR E. CASELLAS, Senior District Judge.

Carmen Hidalgo-Rosa (Hidalgo) brought this action under § 205(g) of the [242]*242Social Security Act, 42 U.S.C. § 405(g), seeking review of the Commissioner of the Social Security Administration’s denial of her application for disability insurance benefits. Docket # 1. She then filed a memorandum supporting her request, Docket # 14, and the Commissioner opposed, Docket # 18. After reviewing the filings and the applicable law, the Commissioner’s decision denying disability benefits is vacated, and this case is REMANDED for further proceedings.

Factual and Procedural Background

On June 24, 2010, Hidalgo filed an application for disability insurance benefits alleging a disability onset date of August 1, 2008. Administrative Transcript (Tr.) 436-38. Hidalgo, who at that time was in her late thirties, claimed to be disabled from full-time employment because of depression, body pain caused by osteoarthritis, sickle cell disease, ulcers, and epigas-tric pain. The application for disability benefits was denied initially and again upon reconsideration. Tr. 334-37, 362-63. She then sought a hearing before an administrative law judge (ALJ).

Duly represented by counsel, Hidalgo appeared at the hearing, which was held on May 1, 2012, and testified that she had to stop working because of sharp and pervasive “joint pain and a severe stomach problem.” Tr. 31. She explained that in 2007 she was “fired” from her last job as a sewing machine operator “due to absences—absences due to medical reasons,” Tr. 33, highlighting that “[t]he condition of ... [her] hands,” Tr. 34, contributed to her poor performance. When asked by the ALJ about whether she had had a “work-related injury” that caused these problems, Hidalgo riposted that she could not reckon how she “acquired all of these conditions,” Tr. 37, but speculated that they could be related to her former job at “TJ Maxx,” which required her to “lift a lot of weight and everything ... [and she] had to use a machine all the time with ... [her] hands.” Tr. 38. She also testified that she could no longer “do any of the household chores,” Tr. 32; that she does not even drive, Tr. 36; and that her pain medication provides- only “little relief.” Tr. 32.

The ALJ’s decision concluded, at step four of the sequential evaluation process, that Hidalgo was not disabled. Tr. 21. In reaching that decision, the ALJ considered Hidalgo’s age, her 9th grade education, and residual functional capacity (RFC). Tr. 18-21. (The RFC “is the most ... [Hidalgo] can still do despite ... [her] limitations.” 20 C.F.R. § 404.1545(a).) The ALJ also considered Hidalgo’s medical records, including those from her treating doctors: Michael Babilonia (rheu-matologist), and Jorge Negron Baez (physician); and he reviewed Hidalgo’s medical records from the consulting sources, to wit: Dr. Félix Rivera (gastroenterologist), and Hidalgo’s progress notes at the Ad-ministración de Servicios de Salud Mental y Contra la Adicción (ASSMCA), where she received psychiatric treatment. At the hearing, the ALJ summoned Dr. German Malaret, “an internist and impartial medical expert,” Tr. 19, whose opinion was afforded “great weight.” Id. The ALJ also heard testimony from a vocational expert (VE), who testified that Hidalgo could perform past relevant work as a data entry clerk, sewing machine operator, and receptionist. Tr. 60.

The following excerpts from the ALJ’s decision illustrate his methodology and findings:

1. The.claimant last met the insured status requirements of the Social Security Act through December 31, 2011.
2. The claimant did not engage in substantial gainful activity during the [243]*243period from her alleged onset date of August 1, 2008 through her date last insured of December 31, 2011.
3. Through the date last insured, the claimant had the following severe impairments: osteoarthritis, sickle cell disease, and gastrointestinal disorders.
4. Through the date last insured, the claimánt did not have an impairment or combination of impairments that met or medically equaled the severity of the listed impairments....
5. After careful consideration of the entire record, I find that, through the date last insured, the claimant had the ... [RFC] to perform light work ... except for the following limitations: lift and carry 20 pounds occasionally and 10 pounds frequently, sit for 6 hours in a 8 hour day, stand and walk for 6 hours in a 8 hour day, never climb ladders or scaffolds, occasionally kneel, crouch, and crawl, and is limited to occasionally reaching above her head with both arms.
6. Through the date last insured, the claimant was capable of performing past relevant work as a data entry clerk, sewing machine operator, and receptionist.
7. The claimant was not under a disability ... at any time from August 1, 2008, the alleged onset date, through December 31, 2011, the last insured.

Tr. 15-17 (internal citations and typeface omitted).

Dissatisfied with that determination, Hi-dalgo appealed, but the Appeals Council denied her request for review, Tr. 1-3, rendering the ALJ’s decision the final decision of the Commissioner and, therefore, subject to judicial review. This appeal ensued. Docket # 1.

In this venue, Hidalgo musters three developed assignments of error.1 She argues, first, that the hypotheticals posed to the VE never reflected all of her limitations, because the ALJ’s RFC determination was inconsistent with the medical evidence—particularly with Dr. Malaret’s opinion (the testifying medical advisor whose opinion was afforded great weight by the ALJ) that rendered Hidalgo unable to perform repetitive hand movements. Docket # 14, p. 5. Hidalgo contends, second, that the ALJ’s step-four findings violated the requirements of Social Security Ruling 82-62. Id., pp. 6-7. And she posits, third, that the prevalence of inaudible parts in the evidentiary hearing transcript bars a meaningful appellate review of the ALJ’s decision. Id., p. 8.

The Commissioner opposed the first two assignments of error, but mounted no defense of the third. See generally Docket # 18. The Court addresses these matters sequentially.

Standard of Review

The scope of appellate review is “limited to determining whether the ALJ deployed the proper legal standards and found facts upon the proper quantum of [244]*244evidence.” Nguyen v. Chater, 172 F.3d 31, 35 (1st Cir.1999) (per curiam). To that end, § 405(g) provides that the Commissioner’s factual findings, “if supported by substantial evidence, shall be conclusive,” 42 U.S.C. § 405(g), and in Richardson v. Perales, 402 U.S. 389, 91 S.Ct. 1420, 28 L.Ed.2d 842 (1971), the Supreme Court defined “substantial evidence” as “more than a mere scintilla. It means such relevant evidence as a reasonable mind might accept as adequate to support a conclusion.” Id. at 401, 91 S.Ct.

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Bluebook (online)
40 F. Supp. 3d 240, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 121144, 2014 WL 4243530, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/hidalgo-rosa-v-colvin-prd-2014.