Maier v. Callahan

959 F. Supp. 1296, 1997 WL 175252
CourtDistrict Court, D. Oregon
DecidedApril 8, 1997
DocketCiv. No. 96-1140-FR
StatusPublished

This text of 959 F. Supp. 1296 (Maier v. Callahan) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Oregon primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Maier v. Callahan, 959 F. Supp. 1296, 1997 WL 175252 (D. Or. 1997).

Opinion

OPINION

FRYE, District Judge.

The plaintiff, Mary Maier, brings this action pursuant to section 205(g) of the Social Security Act (the Act), as amended, 42 U.S.C. § 405(g), to obtain judicial review of the decision of the Commissioner denying [1298]*1298her application for Supplemental Security Income benefits. •

BACKGROUND

Mary Maier filed her application for Supplemental Security Income benefits on October 18, 1993. The application was denied initially and upon reconsideration. After a timely request for a hearing, Maier, represented by counsel, appeared and testified before an Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) on March 13, 1995, as did Byron McNaught, a vocational expert.

On June 13, 1995, the ALJ issued a decision finding that Maier was not disabled within the meaning of the Act. On July 12, 1996, the Appeals Council declined to review the decision of the ALJ.'

UNDISPUTED FACTS

Mary Maier was bom on August 17, 1953 and was 41 years old at the time of her hearing before an ALJ. Maier has an eleventh grade education. She has also completed the studies necessary for a General Education Degree (GED). Maier has past relevant work experience as a house cleaner, a bartender, a nurse’s assistant, and an office worker.

Maier alleges that she became disabled in April of 1993 because of an occipital lobe infarct “with residual vision problems, daily headaehe[s]; concentration/eomprehension problems; also, insomnia/fatigue/episodes of depression; some social functioning problems; low tolerance for stress.” TR 111.

The medical records indicate that Maier was given a physical examination in September of 1992 and was noted by the examiner to be a “[fjairly healthy lady who needs more primary care.” TR 140. Maier was receiving treatment at that time from the Council on Alcohol and Drugs in Clark County, Washington, but she has subsequently become drug-free.

In April of 1993, Maier suffered a stroke. This stroke caused a loss of visual acuity on the right side of her visual field. The stroke left her with a “cognitive disorder” not otherwise specified.

On April 14, 1993, Dr. J. Bruce Bell found that Maier was disabled as . a result of the stroke on April 5,1993, and that her “disability will last at least three months if not longer.” TR 201. In June of 1993, Dr. Bell noted Maier’s reported visual problems resulting in an inability to read, and reported that “[s]he is probably not going to be able to work.” TR 200.

In July of 1993, Dr. Bell wrote that Maier was “starting to be able to read somewhat.” TR 197. In October of 1993, Dr. Bell reported that Maier was continuing to improve; however, in January of 1994, Dr. Bell wrote that “[p]atient still has significant problems with vision. She sees only out of the right half of her eye.” TR 195.

In November of 1993, Maier underwent an ophthalmoscopic examination performed by Dr. Don Behrends. Dr. Behrends noted that there was a “loss of a portion of the superior field in [Maier’s] right eye,” TR 187, but that Maier’s unaided and aided vision was 20/20 or better in both eyes. Dr. Behrends also noted that “[tjhere should be a little loss of visual ability or capacity from this field loss.” Id.

In July of 1994, Dr. Bell completed two physical evaluation forms indicating that Maier was capable of performing sedentary work. TR 215, TR 217.

In February of 1994, Dr. Jeffrey Meyer-hoff performed a psychiatric examination of Maier at the request of Disability Determination Services. TR 190-193. This examination showed a slight impairment in Maier’s ability to understand, to remember, and to carry out simple one or two-step job instructions. Dr. Meyerhoff noted a mild decrease in Maier’s ability to concentrate and stated that her prognosis for significant improvement is positive with time and/or treatment.

In April of 1995, Dr. Linda Conaway performed a psychological evaluation of Maier. Dr. Conaway determined that Maier suffered from a mood disorder caused by her stroke with a major depressive like episode, cognitive disorder, and cannabis (marijuana) abuse by history. Dr. Conaway wrote that Maier appeared “at this point to be significantly depressed with some paranoid features fol[1299]*1299lowing a stroke approximately 2 years ago. She also is very anxious and uncomfortable around people. In addition she does appear to have some memory difficulties and functions below average on standardized testing.” TR 228.

At the hearing, Maier testified that her daily activities are limited to cleaning her home and cooking; that she does not drive a car; that she requires her boyfriend to accompany her to the grocery store because she gets confused; and that she takes Tora-dol for headaches and Zoloft for depression.

At the hearing, the ALJ posed a hypothetical statement of facts to the vocational expert as follows:

But let me start by saying — by doing' this — Dr. Bell feels as though consistently that she’s capable of only sedentary work. I’m not clear as to why that is because I’m having a lot of trouble reading some of his handwriting, even though I’ve seen many reports from him. So let’s assume that we have a — I guess I have to change our — her age. Let’s say 41 years old with a GED and the past work history described in this record. It’s limited to sedentary work, and I’ll start out by saying she has, according to Dr. Maier, in Exhibit 20, normal vision as far as visual acuity in both eyes but has a limitation in the peripheral vision of the right eye to the point where it looks like — well, let’s just say she lacks peripheral vision in the right eye. And let me add to that that she has the inability to read because of the residuals of the stroke. Although she may be able to see the letters, she’s not able to comprehend except for simple things such as reading labels on food products.

TR 60-61. Based upon this hypothetical statement of facts, the vocational expert testified that a person so limited would be able to perform the jobs of hand packer, small parts assembler, dressing room attendant, grinder operator, and small products assembler. The vocational expert stated that if Maier was further limited to no interaction with the public, then the job of dressing room attendant would be excluded. The vocational expert testified that Maier would still be able to perform the other jobs identified as long as any headaches were less than severe in range and she could concentrate at least at a relatively low level.

The ALJ concluded that Maier was unable to perform her past relevant work as a caregiver or bartender; that her residual functional capacity to perform the full range of sedentary work is reduced by her lack of peripheral vision, inability to handle moderate stress, and inability to work closely with others; but that she can perform work as a hand packager, assembly worker, or grinder operator.

CONTENTIONS OF THE PARTIES

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959 F. Supp. 1296, 1997 WL 175252, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/maier-v-callahan-ord-1997.