Little v. Schweiker

555 F. Supp. 541, 1982 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 16858
CourtDistrict Court, N.D. Texas
DecidedNovember 22, 1982
DocketCiv. A. No. CA-5-80-130
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 555 F. Supp. 541 (Little v. Schweiker) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Little v. Schweiker, 555 F. Supp. 541, 1982 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 16858 (N.D. Tex. 1982).

Opinion

ORDER

WOODWARD, Chief Judge.

I

The plaintiff brought this action pursuant to section 205(g) of the Social Security Act, 42 U.S.C. § 405(g), for judicial review of a final decision of the Secretary of Health and Human Services denying her application for disability and disability insurance benefits under sections 216(i) and 223 of Title II of the Act, 42 U.S.C. §§ 416(i), 423. The defendant filed a motion for summary judgment and a brief in support thereof with this court on September 20, 1982. On the same date this court issued an order requiring any party desiring to oppose said motion to file a brief and supporting data with the Clerk of this court on or before twenty (20) days from the date of said order. A full month has now passed since the period for filing briefs in opposition to defendant’s motion expired and none have been so filed. This court can see no reason to further delay the cause of justice in this case. Therefore, this court has considered defendant’s motion and its brief in support thereof, has thoroughly reviewed the administrative record, and is of the opinion that it is once again necessary to remand this case to the Secretary for further consideration.

The following appears from the record:

The plaintiff applied for disability insurance benefits under Title II of the Social Security Act, as amended, on January 10, 1979. (Tr. 35-38). The plaintiff’s applica[543]*543tion states that she became unable to work on July 1, 1978 due to muscle spasms, pain in her eyes, head, neck, back, arms, legs, hands, feet and bladder, and a hiatal hernia. (Tr. 35). This application was denied both initially and upon reconsideration. Upon plaintiff’s request, a hearing was held before an administrative law judge (ALJ) on January 11, 1980. (Tr. 20-34). On March 28, 1980, ALJ Lindsey E. Martin ruled that plaintiff was not under a disability as defined in the Social Security Act, as amended, 42 U.S.C. § 423(d), and therefore, was not entitled to social security benefits. (Tr. 8-14). More specifically, the ALJ found that plaintiff’s impairments do not prevent her from performing her former work as a sheet inspector in the textile industry. (Tr. 14). The Appeals Council affirmed the decision of the ALJ. (Tr. 4-5). Thereafter, plaintiff perfected her appeal to this court.

On May 7,1981, this court issued an order remanding this case to the Secretary for further findings concerning the requirements of plaintiff’s former job. On June 16,1981, the Appeals Council remanded this case for further proceedings consistent with this court’s order. (Tr. 135). Pursuant to the remand order, a supplemental hearing was conducted on October 9, 1981, at which plaintiff, her husband, her attorney, and a vocational expert witness appeared. (Tr. 136-94). On November 27, 1981, ALJ Thomas E. Bennett issued his recommended decision denying plaintiff’s application. (Tr. 126-31). ALJ Bennett, like AU Martin before him, found that plaintiff’s impairments do not prevent her from performing her past relevant work. (Tr. 131). Again the Appeals Council affirmed the ALJ’s findings and conclusions (Tr. 119-20), and once more plaintiff perfected an appeal to this court.

II

The burden rests on the claimant to prove that he suffers from a disability as defined by the Social Security Act. Olson v. Schweiker, 663 F.2d 593, 596 (5th Cir.1981). The statute defines disability as 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). Generally, a person is considered to be under a disability

only if his physical or mental impairment or impairments are of such severity that he is not only unable to do his previous work but cannot, considering his age, education, and work experience, engage in any other kind of substantial gainful work which exists in the national economy, regardless of whether such work exists in the immediate area in which he lives, or whether a specific job vacancy exists for him, or whether he would be hired if he applied for work. 42 U.S.C. § 423(d)(2)(A).

A “mental or physical impairment” is one which “results from anatomical, physiological, or psychological abnormalities which are demonstrable by medically acceptable clinical and laboratory diagnostic techniques.” 42 U.S.C. § 423(d)(3). The burden is on the claimant to demonstrate that he is no longer capable of performing his past relevant work. Perez v. Schweiker, 653 F.2d 997, 999 (5th Cir.1981); Wilkinson v. Schweiker, 640 F.2d 743, 744 (5th Cir.1981). Once the claimant satisfies this burden, it then shifts to the Secretary to show that the claimant is capable of engaging in some type of substantial gainful activity. Perez v. Schweiker, 653 F.2d at 999; Ferguson v. Schweiker, 641 F.2d 243, 246 (5th Cir.1981).

20 C.F.R. § 404.1520 (1981) sets forth a sequential evaluation process for determining whether a claimant is disabled under Title II of the Social Security Act. When a determination that a claimant either is or is not disabled can be made at any step of this process, further evaluation is unnecessary. 20 C.F.R. § 404.1520(a) (1981). The initial inquiry in the evaluation process is whether the claimant is engaged in substantial gainful employment. If the claimant is presently engaged in substantial gainful employ[544]*544ment (as defined in 20 C.F.R. §§ 404.1571-404.1575), he is not considered to be under a disability. 20 C.F.R. § 404.1520(b). If this is not the case, the second inquiry is whether the claimant has a severe impairment. If the claimant does not have a severe impairment (as defined in 20 C.F.R. §§ 404.1521-404.1530), he is not considered to be under a disability. 20 C.F.R. § 404.-1520(c).

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Bluebook (online)
555 F. Supp. 541, 1982 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 16858, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/little-v-schweiker-txnd-1982.