Oliveras v. Comm'r of Soc. Sec.

354 F. Supp. 3d 84
CourtDistrict Court, District of Columbia
DecidedJanuary 2, 2019
DocketCIVIL ACTION NO. 18-10212-TSH
StatusPublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 354 F. Supp. 3d 84 (Oliveras v. Comm'r of Soc. Sec.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, District of Columbia primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Oliveras v. Comm'r of Soc. Sec., 354 F. Supp. 3d 84 (D.D.C. 2019).

Opinion

On December 18, 2015, Dr. Javlekar filled out a Medial Source Statement. She indicated that Plaintiff could frequently lift/carry less than 10 pounds, that Plaintiff could stand/walk less than 2 hours per day, and that Plaintiff must periodically alternate between sitting and standing to relieve pain or discomfort. Dr. Javlekar additionally noted that Plaintiff could only occasionally climb and balance and never kneel crouch, crawl, or stoop. Finally, Dr. Javlekar noted that Plaintiff had limited ability to perform fine manipulation and *89that cold temperatures exacerbate her symptoms. (AR 406-409).

In both the initial and reconsideration determinations, the State Agency consulting physicians concluded Plaintiff had no severe impairments. (AR 103-14; 117-28).

Standard of Review

This Court may not disturb the Commissioner's decision if it is grounded in substantial evidence. 42 U.S.C. 405(g) ; 1383(c)(3). Substantial evidence exists when there is sufficient evidence that a reasonable person could agree with the conclusion. Rodriguez v. Sec'y of Health & Human Servs. , 647 F.2d 218, 222 (1st Cir. 1981). Thus, this Court must uphold the Commissioner's findings "if a reasonable mind, reviewing the evidence in the record as a whole, could accept it as adequate to support his conclusion, even if the administrative record could support multiple conclusions." Ortiz v. Sec'y of Health & Human Servs. , 955 F.2d 765, 769 (1st Cir. 1991) (quotation marks and citation omitted).

Standard of Entitlement to DIB and SSI

A claimant is disabled for the purposes of DIB and SSI if she is unable "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). "Unable to engage in any substantial gainful activity" means the claimant

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).

The Commissioner assesses a claimant's impairment under a "five-step sequential evaluation process" outlined in the statute. See 20 C.F.R. § 404.1520.

The hearing officer must decide: (1) whether the claimant is engaged in "substantial gainful activity"; (2) whether the claimant suffers from a "severe impairment"; (3) whether the impairment "meets or equals" one of the listed impairments contained in Appendix 1 to the regulations; (4) whether the claimant's residual functional capacity ("RFC")1 precludes him from engaging in previous relevant employment; and (5) whether the claimant's RFC precludes him from doing any work considering the claimant's age, education, and work experience. See id. If the hearing officer concludes at any step of the evaluation process that the claimant is or is not disabled, the inquiry does not continue to the next step. See 20 C.F.R. § 404.1520.

The claimant has the burden of showing that she is disabled through step four of the analysis. At step five, however, the burden shifts to the Commissioner who must show that there are jobs in the national *90economy the claimant can perform notwithstanding her impairments. See Goodermote v. Sec'y of Health & Human Servs. , 690 F.2d 5, 7 (1st Cir. 1982).

The ALJ's Decision

At step one, the ALJ found that Plaintiff had not engaged in substantial gainful activity since July 2, 2014, her alleged onset date. (AR 13). At step two, the ALJ determined that Plaintiff's Crohn's disease and scoliosis were "severe impairments." Id. At step three, the ALJ held that Plaintiff "does not have an impairment or a combination of impairments that meets or medically equals the severity of one of the listed impairments" contained in Appendix 1 to the regulations. (AR 18). Then, the ALJ found that Plaintiff had the RFC to perform:

[L]ight work as defined in 20 CFR 404.1567(b) and 416.967(b) except she can occasionally stoop, crouch, crawl, kneel, balance, and climb ramps and stairs. She cannot climb ladders, ropes, or scaffolds. She can tolerate occasional exposure to extreme cold. She cannot tolerate exposure to hazards, such as dangerous moving machinery and unprotected heights. She may need to alter sitting and standing up to twice an hour while continuing to work. She may need ready access to a restroom (within 300 yards) and may need additional 1-2 breaks (in addition to normal breaks and lunch) of 5-10 minutes (up to 20 minutes per workday and less than 5% of the workday).

(AR 18). At step four, the ALJ determined that Plaintiff "is unable to perform any past relevant work." (AR 21). At step five, however, the ALJ found that "[c]onsidering the [Plaintiff's] age, education, work experience, and residual functional capacity, there are jobs that exist in significant numbers in the national economy that the [Plaintiff] can perform" and that she was therefore not disabled.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
354 F. Supp. 3d 84, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/oliveras-v-commr-of-soc-sec-dcd-2019.