McPherson v. Commissioner of Social Security Administration

CourtDistrict Court, D. Arizona
DecidedApril 22, 2024
Docket3:23-cv-08107
StatusUnknown

This text of McPherson v. Commissioner of Social Security Administration (McPherson v. Commissioner of Social Security Administration) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Arizona primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
McPherson v. Commissioner of Social Security Administration, (D. Ariz. 2024).

Opinion

1 WO 2 3 4 5 6 IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 7 FOR THE DISTRICT OF ARIZONA

9 Denise McPherson, No. CV-23-08107-PCT-JAT

10 Plaintiff, ORDER

11 v.

12 Commissioner of Social Security Administration, 13 Defendant. 14 15 Pending before the Court is Plaintiff Denise McPherson’s appeal from the 16 Commissioner of the Social Security Administration’s (“SSA”) final decision denying 17 social security disability benefits. (Doc. 1). The appeal is fully briefed (Docs. 10, 16, 17), 18 and the Court now rules. 19 I. BACKGROUND 20 The issues presented in this appeal are: 21 1. Whether the Administrative Law Judge (“ALJ”) failed to give clear and convincing 22 evidence to reject Plaintiff’s symptom testimony. 23 2. Whether the ALJ supported her finding that Plaintiff’s vision impairments did not 24 equal a listing under 2.02, 2.03, or 2.04 with substantial evidence. 25 3. Whether the ALJ supported her decision with substantial evidence. 26 (Doc. 10 at 5).1 27 28 1 The Court has reordered and reworded Plaintiff’s issues to better facilitate discussion. 1 A. Factual Overview 2 Plaintiff was fifty-six years old on her alleged disability onset date of February 20, 3 2016. (Doc. 10 at 2). She graduated high school and reports past work as a caregiver, 4 concessions seller, crisis driver, housekeeper, and mentor. (Doc. 16 at 3). On May 23, 5 2016, Plaintiff filed her application for disability insurance benefits under Title II and Title 6 XVI of the Social Security Act (“the Act”). (Doc. 10 at 2). Plaintiff alleged that she suffered 7 from headaches, total vision impairment, primary open-angle glaucoma, plateau iris 8 syndrome, adhesions and disruptions of pupillary membranes, acute and chronic open- 9 angle glaucoma, pain in and around her eye, rubeosis iridis, phacolytic glaucoma, nuclear 10 sclerosis, a total or mature senile cataract, and glaucoma associated with vascular disorders 11 of her eye. (Id.) After administrative review, the SSA denied Plaintiff’s application. (Doc. 12 16 at 2). However, on judicial review, the Court ordered remand to the agency. (Id. at 3). 13 In accordance with the Court’s Order, the SSA Appeals Council remanded the matter back 14 to an ALJ for a new hearing. (Id.) Plaintiff appeared via telephone in front of a new ALJ 15 on November 30, 2022. (Doc. 6-10 at 45). The ALJ issued an unfavorable decision on 16 December 20, 2022. (Id. at 57). In her decision, the ALJ found that based on Plaintiff’s 17 May 23, 2016, social security application and Plaintiff’s October 25, 2018, social security 18 application, Plaintiff has not been disabled—as defined in the Social Security Act—from 19 February 20, 2016, through the date of the decision. (Id.) The SSA Appeals Council denied 20 Plaintiff’s request for review of the ALJ’s decision and adopted that decision as the SSA’s 21 final decision. (Doc. 16 at 3). Plaintiff then sought review in this Court. (Doc. 1). 22 B. The SSA’s Five-Step Evaluation Process 23 To qualify for social security disability insurance benefits, a claimant must show 24 that she “is under a disability.” 42 U.S.C. § 423(a)(1)(E). To be “under a disability,” the 25 claimant must be unable to engage in “substantial gainful activity” due to any medically 26 determinable physical or mental impairment that can be expected to result in death or that 27 has lasted or can be expected to last for a continuous period of not less than twelve months. 28 Id. § 423(d)(1). The impairment must be of such severity that the claimant cannot do her 1 previous work or any other substantial gainful work within the national economy. Id. 2 § 423(d)(2). The SSA has created a five-step sequential evaluation process for determining 3 whether an individual is disabled. See 20 C.F.R. § 404.1520(a)(1). The steps are followed 4 in order, and each step is potentially dispositive. See id. § 404.1520(a)(4). 5 At step one, the ALJ determines whether the claimant is engaging in “substantial 6 gainful activity.” Id. § 404.1520(a)(4)(i). “Substantial gainful activity” is work activity that 7 is (1) “substantial,” e.g., doing “significant physical or mental activities;” and (2) “gainful,” 8 e.g., usually done “for pay or profit.” 20 C.F.R. § 416.972(a)(b). If the claimant is engaging 9 in substantial gainful work activity, the ALJ will find the claimant is not disabled. Id. 10 § 404.1520(a)(4)(i). 11 At step two, the ALJ determines whether the claimant has “a severe medically 12 determinable physical or mental impairment” or severe “combination of impairments.” Id. 13 § 404.1520(a)(4)(ii). To be “severe,” the claimant’s impairment must “significantly limit” 14 the claimant’s “physical or mental ability to do basic work activities.” Id. § 404.1520(c). 15 If the claimant does not have a severe impairment or combination of impairments, the ALJ 16 will find the claimant is not disabled. Id. § 404.1520(a)(4)(ii). 17 At step three, the ALJ determines whether the claimant’s impairment(s) “meets or 18 equals” an impairment listed in Appendix 1 to Subpart P of 20 C.F.R. Part 404. Id. 19 § 404.1520(a)(4)(iii). If so, the ALJ will find the claimant is disabled, but if not, the ALJ 20 must assess the claimant’s “residual functional capacity” (“RFC”) before proceeding to 21 step four. Id. §§ 404.1520(a)(4)(iii), 404.1520(e). The claimant’s RFC is her ability to do 22 physical and mental work activities “despite [her] limitations,” based on all relevant 23 evidence in the case record. Id. § 404.1545(a)(1). To determine RFC, the ALJ must 24 consider all the claimant’s impairments, including those that are not “severe,” and any 25 related symptoms that “affect what [the claimant] can do in a work setting.” Id. 26 §§ 404.1545(a)(1)–(2). 27 At step four, the ALJ determines whether the claimant has the RFC to perform the 28 physical and mental demands of “[her] past relevant work.” Id. §§ 404.1520(a)(4)(iv), 1 404.1520(e). “Past relevant work” is work the claimant has “done within the past 15 years, 2 that was substantial gainful activity.” Id. § 404.1560(b)(1). If the claimant has the RFC to 3 perform her past relevant work, the ALJ will find the claimant is not disabled. Id. 4 § 404.1520(a)(4)(iv). If the claimant cannot perform her past relevant work, the ALJ will 5 proceed to step five in the sequential evaluation process. 6 At step five, the last in the sequence, the ALJ considers whether the claimant “can 7 make an adjustment to other work,” considering her RFC, age, education, and work 8 experience. Id. § 404.1520(a)(v). If so, the ALJ will find the claimant not disabled. Id. If 9 the claimant cannot make this adjustment, the ALJ will find the opposite. Id. 10 C. The ALJ’s Application of the Factors 11 Here, at step one, the ALJ concluded that Plaintiff “has not engaged in substantial 12 gainful activity since February 20, 2016, the alleged onset date.” (Doc. 6-10 at 48). 13 At step two, the ALJ determined the following impairments are “severe”: 14 headaches, glaucoma, and a prosthetic left eye. (Id.) The ALJ found that Plaintiff’s severe 15 impairments “significantly limit the ability to perform basic work activities as required by 16 SSR 85-28.” (Id.) The ALJ also considered Plaintiff’s hyperlipidemia diagnosis and 17 determined that the medical record fails to support a finding that it has caused more than a 18 minimal limitation in Plaintiff’s ability to perform basic work activities, and thus is 19 considered non-severe.

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McPherson v. Commissioner of Social Security Administration, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/mcpherson-v-commissioner-of-social-security-administration-azd-2024.