Parker v. Schweiker

522 F. Supp. 1360, 1981 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 14986
CourtDistrict Court, N.D. Alabama
DecidedSeptember 29, 1981
DocketCiv. A. No. 80-C-1232-S
StatusPublished

This text of 522 F. Supp. 1360 (Parker v. Schweiker) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. Alabama primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Parker v. Schweiker, 522 F. Supp. 1360, 1981 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 14986 (N.D. Ala. 1981).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION

CLEMON, District Judge.

Plaintiff Jacob I. Parker seeks judicial review of a final decision by the Secretary of Health and Human Services (“the Secretary”) denying him disability insurance benefits.

On September 14, 1979 Parker filed an application for a period of disability and disability insurance benefits from August 27, 1979. Parker claimed disability due to chest pains, black-outs, arthritis, peptic ulcers, and nervousness. On October 11-12, 1979 disability determination examiners concluded that Parker was not disabled, and they diagnosed his condition as pansinusitis and hypertension. His claim for disability insurance benefits was accordingly denied. Parker requested a reconsideration, and alleged that “I am still not able to work. I still have fainting spells and have pain in my chest and shoulder. I have a lot of swelling in my ankles to where I cannot walk”. On January 22, 1980, the claim for reconsideration was denied.

Upon appeal, and after a hearing, an administrative law judge (“ALJ”) of the Bureau of Hearings and Appeals determined that Parker was not disabled within the meaning of the Social Security Act. The Appeals Council affirmed the ALJ on July 15, 1980; and Parker thereafter supplemented the record with a Physical Capacity Evaluation Form. After considering the evaluation, the Appeals Council “. . . decided that there [was] no regulatory basis for vacating its previous action and reopening the administrative law judge’s decision”. Following this final decision by the Secretary, Parker commenced this action.

The ALJ found, and substantial evidence supports the following:

“1. The [Plaintiff] met the special earnings requirements of the Act on August 27, 1979, the date the plaintiff stated he became unable to work, and continues to meet them through September 30, 1984.
2. [Plaintiff] has the following impairments: post-transurethral resection of the prostate glands, post-bilateral vasectomy, carcinoma of the prostate, chronic sinusitis, and post sinus surgery.”

At issue is the question of whether substantial evidence supports the following findings by the ALJ:

“3. The [plaintiff] has the residual, functional capacity to perform work-related functions except for work involving more than “light work”.
4. The [plaintiff’s] former work as a security guard did not require more than “light work”.
5. The [plaintiff’s] impairments do not prevent him from performing his former work as a security guard”.

Parker is fifty-eight years old, and he completed the ninth grade. He served in the United States Army during World War II. On September 27,1945 he started working at the Anniston Army Depot as a spray painter; he held this position for twenty-eight years — until April 2, 1973.1 On the latter date, he was involuntarily separated from his position and placed on a disability retirement by the Civil Service Commission. He was determined to be

“. . . unable to perform the duties of the position that require heavy lifting, moderate carrying, reaching above shoulders, use of fingers, both hands required, standing, crawling, kneeling and climbing, requiring the use of both legs”.

and no other work was available for him at the Anniston Army Depot. He now receives $549 per month as Civil Service disability retirement pay.

[1362]*1362In 1973, Parker initially applied for social security disability benefits. His application was denied because he did not meet the earnings requirement of the Social Security Law at the time.

Parker secured employment with Pinkerton’s, Inc., as a security guard on March 14, 1974, and he held this position for roughly two and a half years. He testified before ALJ that he was assigned to Simpson Hospital. While working this job, he experienced pain in his legs — to the point that he had great difficulty in walking. According to his testimony, he could not work this job; and since Pinkerton’s did not have another job for him, he obtained a security guard position at Burns, Inc. The Burns position was a temporary job, which apparently ran out after he had worked it for approximately six months.

The record reflects that Parker next worked, for roughly a year and a half, as a security guard with Eagle Security Service. During this time, Parker was hospitalized on two separate occasions — once for a two-week period, and again for a period of one week. Parker was first hospitalized at Jacksonville Hospital, and a physical examination disclosed a “marked tenderness over the right knee with some swelling”; and it was the physician’s impression that Parker had “severe bursitis of the right knee”. On the second hospitalization in 1977, Parker’s condition was diagnosed as “osteoarthritis, petit mal seizures, and congestive heart failure”. On July 26, August 8, August 19, September 14, and October 10, 1977 Parker visited his personal physician, Dr. John Sherrer, and complained, inter alia, of swollen and painful legs and knees.

In 1978 and 1979, Parker continued to complain of chest, feet and shoulder pain in office visits to his personal physician.

Parker last worked as a security guard at Dynamic Security, Inc., for roughly five months in 1979.

Parker was hospitalized for eight days in November, 1979, at Jacksonville Hospital and for a like period of time in the same month at the Alabama Regional Medical Center for prostate trouble. He underwent surgery for carcinoma of the prostate gland.

In 1980, Parker was hospitalized at Stringfellow Memorial Hospital in Anniston for twelve days in February and at the Veterans Administration Hospital in Birmingham for twenty-five days in May; and again his condition was diagnosed as “acute and chronic sinusitis” and “carcinoma of the prostate”, and “left ventricular dysfunction, compensated”.

At the hearing before the ALJ, Parker testified that he could no longer work as a security guard because his legs would swell after standing on them for ten consecutive minutes or more. He further testified that he had dizzy spells “all the time”; and that in the week preceding the hearing (during which he was hospitalized), he had had a blackout and fallen to the floor. In his judgment, his legs are his most severe impairment. He testified that his personal physician had advised him to walk as little as possible; and that another doctor had advised him against driving and lifting anything. He was still under the treatment of doctors, and he was taking daily medication for sinusitis and epilepsy. Moreover, he testified that his feet were in a worse condition at the time of the hearing than they had been when he last worked as a security guard. The AU did not find that Parker’s testimony was not credible.

Parker’s testimony was buttressed by that of his wife. Mrs. Parker testified that her husband is vulnerable to unexpected dizzy spells at any time: “A lot of time he be staggering and I catch him”. She stated additionally that sometimes when he gets out of bed, he falls on the floor. There was no adverse credibility finding concerning Mrs. Parker’s testimony.

In the judgment of his personal physician, Parker can neither stand and walk nor sit and work for as much as six out of 8 hours in a normal work day.2 Further, in [1363]*1363Dr.

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522 F. Supp. 1360, 1981 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 14986, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/parker-v-schweiker-alnd-1981.