Jacqueline Ann Anteau v. Commissioner of Social Security

708 F. App'x 611
Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit·Decided September 14, 2017·No. 16-17187 Non-Argument Calendar·Unpublished·Cited by 17 cases

Opinion

PER CURIAM:

Jacqueline Ann Anteau appeals the district court’s order affirming the Commissioner’s denial of her application for disability insurance benefits, pursuant to 42 U.S.C, § 405(g). Anteau raises issues on appeal relating to the ALJ’s consideration of Anteau’s diagnosis of Asperger’s disorder. Anteau contends the ALJ erred by determining the opinion of her licensed clinical social worker, Julie Wells, was entitled to little weight. Anteau- also asserts substantial evidence supported a finding she had Asperger’s disorder and met the requirements of Listing § 12.10, but the ALJ failed to evaluate Asperger’s disorder or acknowledge the diagnosis. After review, 1 we affirm.

I. DISCUSSION

A. Licensed Clinical Social Worker’s Opinion

In determining whether a claimant is disabled, the ALJ will always consider the medical opinions in a case record together with the rest of the relevant evidence received. 20 C.F.R. § 404.1527(b). In addition to evidence from acceptable medical sources such as physicians and psychologists, evidence from other sources may also be used to show the severity of impairments and how it affects ability to work. 20 C.F.R. § 404.1513(a) (2016). The Social Security Administration has explained only evidence from “acceptable medical sources” can establish the existence of a medically determinable impairment, and only “acceptable medical sources” can give medical opinions or be considered treating sources, whose medical opinions may be entitled to controlling weight. SSR 06-03p, 2006 WL 2329939 at *2 (S.S.A. Aug. 9, 2006). “Other sources” include medical sources, who are not “acceptable medical sources,” such as licensed clinical social workers. Id. Evidence from “other sources” may show the severity of the individual’s impairment and how it affects the individual’s ability to function. However, information from “other sources” cannot establish the existence of a medically determinable impairment. Id,

Because Wells was a licensed clinical social worker, she was not an “acceptable medical source” and she could not establish the existence of a medically determinable impairment. See SSR 06-03p. Instead, as a licensed clinical social worker, she was considered an “other medical source,” and while the ALJ was required to consider her opinion, he was not required to give it significant weight. To determine whether Anteau had Asperger’s disorder, the ALJ needed objective medical evidence from an acceptable medical source to establish Asperger’s disorder. See 20 C.F.R. § Pt. 404, Subpt. P, App.l § 12,00. The only acceptable medical source that diagnosed Anteau with Asper-ger’s disorder was Dr. Gerald Hodan. However, Dr. Hodan’s opinion was based on Anteau’s subjective claims rather than objective evidence, and the ALJ did not err in determining Dr. Hodan’s opinion was not entitled to great weight. See 20 C.F.R. § 404.1527(c).

Without an acceptable medical source to establish a medically determinable mental disorder, Wells’ opinion regarding the severity of Anteau’s Asperger’s disorder and its effects on Anteau’s.ability to function in a work setting was undermined. The ALJ credited the opinion of Dr. Michael S. Greenberg, who conducted a psychological exam of Anteau and stated he had not seen any signs of Asperger’s disorder. As Wells was not a licensed psychologist or psyehia-trist and her opinión was based on diagnoses questioned by Dr. Greenberg, the ALJ did not err in determining Wells’ opinion was not entitled to considerable weight.

The ALJ reviewed Wells’ opinion by asking about it during the hearing and stating in his decision the record contained several opinions from Wells that found An-teau completely incapable of maintaining competitive employment. See 20 C.F.R. § 404.1527(b). Accordingly, the ALJ properly weighed Wells’ opinion because while the ALJ acknowledged her opinion in his decision, she was not an accepted medical source, her opinion was contradicted by the psychologist credited by the ALJ, and the only acceptable medical source that diagnosed Anteau with Asperger’s disorder was a psychologist whose opinion was given little weight.

B. Listing § 12.10

As an initial matter, even though the ALJ failed to mention Asperger’s disorder and Listing § 12.10 in his decision, the ALJ’s determination that Anteau’s diagnosis of Asperger’s disorder did not meet Listing § 12.10 was implicit in the ALJ’s determination that Anteau had the residual functioning capacity to perform her past relevant work. The ALJ would only have reached that determination by first determining that Anteau had no severe impairment that met or equaled a listed impairment. See Hutchison v. Bowen, 787 F.2d 1461, 1463 (11th Cir. 1986) (stating there may be an implied finding that a claimant does not meet a listing, even if an ALJ does not explicitly state the claimant’s impairments were not contained in the listings, when the ALJ reaches the fourth step of the disability analysis, in which the ALJ determines whether the claimant has the capacity to perform her past relevant work); see also Dyer v. Barnhart, 395 F.3d 1206, 1211 (11th Cir. 2005) (explaining there is no rigid requirement the ALJ specifically refer to every piece of evidence in his decision, so long as the ALJ’s decision is not a broad rejection which is not enough to enable the district court or us to conclude the ALJ considered the medical condition as a whole).

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Jacqueline Ann Anteau v. Commissioner of Social Security, 708 F. App'x 611 (11th Cir. 2017).

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