McDaniel v. Heckler

608 F. Supp. 489, 1985 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 19994
CourtDistrict Court, M.D. Alabama
DecidedMay 8, 1985
DocketCiv. A. No. 84V-815-N
StatusPublished

This text of 608 F. Supp. 489 (McDaniel v. Heckler) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, M.D. Alabama primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
McDaniel v. Heckler, 608 F. Supp. 489, 1985 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 19994 (M.D. Ala. 1985).

Opinion

OPINION

VARNER, District Judge.

This cause is presented for review of the findings of Defendant Secretary that Plaintiff was not disabled permanently from a period allegedly beginning on January 29, 1982. Plaintiff duly filed a claim and processed the same through a hearing before an Administrative Law Judge (AU) [491]*491who denied benefits and found the Plaintiff not disabled on August 31, 1982, [Tr. 285-293]. Plaintiff did not request review by the Appeals Council or otherwise proceed in regard to that claim, and the finding of the AU on August 31, 1982, is conclusive as to Plaintiffs nondisability from January through August of 1982. This Court has no jurisdiction to review the action of Defendant Secretary not timely presented for review. Califano v. Sanders, 430 U.S. 99, 97 S.Ct. 980, 51 L.Ed.2d 192 (1977); Ellis v. Schweiker, 662 F.2d 419 (5th Cir.1981).

Plaintiff filed her current application for disability insurance benefits on March 2, 1983. Plaintiff exhausted her administrative remedies, and this Court will review the decision of the AU and hence Defendant Secretary for the period of alleged disability beginning on August 31, 1982.

Plaintiff is a 54-year-old female with a seventh-grade education [Tr. 296, 308]. Her vocational history shows that she had a successful work record for some 28 years [Tr. 61] and that her principal job has been that of a sewing machine operator in the textile industry. Plaintiff claims a disability due to degenerative osteo-arthritis, residuals of a lumbar laminectomy, congestive heart failure and chronic intractable pain [Tr. 414],

The burden of proof in cases of this sort is on the Plaintiff to prove by a preponderance of the evidence her disability as defined in the Social Security Act as “inability to engage in substantial gainful activity by reason of any medically determinable physical or mental impairment which can be expected to result in death and which has lasted or can be expected to last for a continuous period of not less than twelve months.” 42 U.S.C. § 423(d). Title 42, U.S.C., § 423(d)(2)(A), provides that one is disabled “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.” Section 423(d)(3) states that “for purposes of this section, a ‘physical or mental impairment’ is an impairment that results from anatomical, physiological, psychological abnormalities which are demonstrable by medically acceptable clinical and laboratory diagnostic techniques.”

The standard for judicial review of a decision by an AU and Appeals Council of denial of disability is that substantial evidence must support the finding. Jackson v. Richardson, 449 F.2d 1326 (5th Cir.1971). Substantial evidence is “more than a scintilla, less than a preponderance and such relevant evidence as a reasonable mind might accept as being adequate to support the decision.” Fontenot v. Secretary of HEW, 404 F.Supp. 166 (D.C.La.1975).

The Plaintiff complains that the AU and hence the Secretary gave little weight to the treating physician’s expert opinion in violation of the mandates of Oppenheim v. Finch, 495 F.2d 396, 398 (4th Cir.1974); Roberts v. Schweiker, 667 F.2d 1143 (4th Cir.1981); Wiggins v. Schweiker, 679 F.2d 1387 (11th Cir.1982). The problem that the AU had with the treating physician’s (Dr. Thomas) expert opinion was the weakness of any showing of an anatomical, physiological, psychological abnormality which is demonstrable by medically acceptable clinical and laboratory diagnostic techniques. 42 U.S.C. § 423(d)(3). Plaintiff’s counsel points out that severe disabling pain coupled with medically determinable impairments demand credibility findings not shown in this proceeding. The AU’s problem, again, was a failure of a showing of medically determinable impairments. Plaintiff was able to show a mild scoliosis and mild osteo-arthritic changes of her lumbar sacral spine and residual pantopaque from a previous myelography [Tr. 409, 413]. Unfortunately, Plaintiff’s burden of proof relative to her back problem is complicated by the fact that she is unable to have proper diagnostic myelograms made [492]*492because of her allergy to the dye which would be inserted in the spinal column for purposes of the myelogram. Such dye apparently would be extremely dangerous to Plaintiff, and, therefore, the diagnostic procedure cannot be used to determine the cause of Plaintiff’s back pains. Her “heart” problem has been demonstrated by medically-acceptable clinical and laboratory diagnostic techniques to be a hiatus hernia which, though frightening, does not compare with heart trouble in seriousness.

Plaintiff complains that the hearing afforded her did not comply with the requirements of Cowart v. Schweiker, 662 F.2d 731 (11th Cir.1981); Clark v. Schweiker, 652 F.2d 399 (5th Cir.1981); and Crider v. Secretary, 624 F.2d 15 (4th Cir.1980). The Plaintiff appeared with her husband and two friends for her hearing on December 13, 1983, with no counsel and with no apparent knowledge of such proceedings. The hearing lasted only 13 minutes, and there is a conflict between the Plaintiff’s and Defendant Secretary’s attorneys as to whether or not the AU solicited evidence of Dr. Thomas’ findings between his last report dated September 12, 1983, and the December, 1983, hearing. This Court finds from the transcript at page 32 that the AU noticed the problem, asked about the reason for no current report and asked whether or not there was any difference. Upon receiving the answer, “No, it’s the same”, the AU, obviously recognizing the unnecessary delay and expense of seeking further reports from Dr. Thomas, proceeded with the hearing based on the evidence including reports from other doctors showing only “mild” abnormalities not one likely to result in death or inability to engage in gainful activity within the meaning of § 423(d).

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Related

Califano v. Sanders
430 U.S. 99 (Supreme Court, 1977)
Fontenot v. Secretary of Health
404 F. Supp. 166 (W.D. Louisiana, 1975)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
608 F. Supp. 489, 1985 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 19994, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/mcdaniel-v-heckler-almd-1985.