Paula Michel v. Carolyn W. Colvin

640 F. App'x 585
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit
DecidedMarch 23, 2016
Docket14-3460
StatusUnpublished
Cited by39 cases

This text of 640 F. App'x 585 (Paula Michel v. Carolyn W. Colvin) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Paula Michel v. Carolyn W. Colvin, 640 F. App'x 585 (8th Cir. 2016).

Opinions

PER CURIAM.

Paula Michel appeals from the district court’s1 order affirming the Commissioner of Social Security Administration’s (“Commissioner”) denial of Michel’s application for disability insurance benefits under Title II of the Social Security Act, 42 U.S.C. § 401, et seq. We affirm.

I. Background

Michel was born on September 7, 1966, and is a college graduate. Prior to October 2009, she was employed for 20 years as a speech pathologist at the Mississippi Bend Area Education Agency. She alleges that she became disabled beginning October 22, 2009, due to chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia, and depression.

A. Medical Evidence

The medical evidence shows that Michel sought treatment for achiness in January 2009. Dr. John Viner, M.D., diagnosed Michel with malaise, stomatitis, and an exacerbation of chronic fatigue. In July 2009, Michel reported achiness in her hands to Dr. Viner, but she also stated that her “[e]nergy has been pretty good.” Dr. Viner assessed hand arthritis and noted Michel’s improved fatigue. But on November 2, 2009, Michel returned to Dr. Viner due to “chronic fatigue problems,” asthenia, and depression. Dr. Viner diagnosed Michel with “[i]nfluenza-like illness.” On November 23, 2009, Michel reported “ongoing fever.” Then, on December 8, 2009, after Michel presented to Dr. Viner with “generalized aching” and a “low grade fever,” Dr. Viner diagnosed Michel with “[r]ecurrent chronic fatigue syndrome” and also identified an autoimmune disease as a “consideration” due to Michel’s “[d]if~ fuse pains.” Dr. Viner again assessed Michel with chronic fatigue syndrome when she presented to him with a “low energy level” and muscle weakness on January 5, 2010; he did, however, note that “Michel has had some improvement.” He also reported on February 16, 2010, that while Michel had chronic fatigue syndrome and “remained] tired,” she had also “shown favorable response over the last 5 or 6 weeks to the addition of methylphenidate” and was now “able to walk 10 minutes up to three times a day” and was sleeping well. Michel continued to see Dr. Viner every three months for medication adjustment.

Michel also underwent mental health medication management and therapy with Susan Amundsen, a physician assistant, and Gerald Odefey, a psychologist, for anxiety and depression, with predominately “unchanged” findings from January 2009 through June 2011. Michel reported increased depression to Amundsen on January 6, 2010, one day after Dr. Viner had again assessed Michel with chronic fatigue syndrome. In April 2010, Michel reported to Amundsen that she had “decided not to [587]*587go back to her job [and] need[ed] to look for something else that will have insurance.” In November 2010, Michel reported increased irritability with a change in her medication.

On April 30, 2010, Michel saw Dr. George Isaac, M.D., a rhematologist. She complained of muscle and joint aches in her hands, neck, upper and lower back, hips, knees, and ankles. Dr. Isaac found “no significant limited range of motion in [Michel’s] cervical, thoracic, - or lumbar spine on passive range of motion,” but he noted that “the patient is not moving very well.” Although Michel “complain[ed] of some pain with passive range of motion of her cervical spine,” Dr. Isaac found “no evidence of any radiculopathy.”2 And, while Dr. Isaac noted “some tenderness involving [Michel’s] trapezius muscle and anterior upper chest,” he found that Michel had a “good range of motion in the shoulders, elbows, wrists, and hand joints without any swelling, redness, or increased warmth” and “reasonable grip strength bilaterally” despite some tenderness. As to Michel’s lower extremities, Dr. Isaac noted “mild tenderness involving both hips”; a normal range of motion “when passively forced, but actively ... some limited range of motion on external rotation”; “no problems on flexion and abduction”; “no swelling, redness, or increased warmth in her knees”; and “no evidence of any rashes.” Dr. Isaac diagnosed fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome. In assessing Michel’s condition, Dr. Isaac noted that Michel “has a mind set that she has chronic fatigue and she seems to have lost hope in getting better which is the biggest problem that we usually face in these conditions.” He informed Michel “that it would be up to her whether she wants to get better or not because [he] could start her on all of the medications in the world and that is not going to help.” At Michel’s May 28, 2010 visit, Dr. Isaac noted that while Michel still had “generalized tenderness,” her “pain has gotten significantly] better with [medication]”; he also observed that “her coping with pain will also get better.” On June 28, 2010, Dr. Isaac again acknowledged that Michel had “generalized tenderness” but stated that he was “very pleased with her progress with the [medication].” Michel returned to Dr. Isaac monthly from October through December 2010, with reports of generalized tenderness; pain in her shoulders, elbows, fingers, and right thumb; and difficulty sleeping.

On November 17, 2010, Dr. Laura Griffith, D.O., a state-agency medical consultant, reviewed Michel’s medical records and completed a physical residual functional capacity assessment (RFC). Dr. Griffith opined that Michel could (1) occasionally lift or carry ten pounds, (2) frequently lift or carry less than ten pounds, (3) stand or walk with normal breaks for at least two hours in an eight-hour workday, (4) sit with normal breaks for about six hours in an eight-hour workday, and (5) push or pull without limitations. Further, Dr. Griffith opined that Michel could occasionally climb ramps and stairs, balance, stoop, kneel, crouch, and crawl. Dr. Griffith found that Michel should avoid concentrated exposure to extreme cold and extreme heat. Dr. Griffith found no manipulative, visual, or communicative limitations for Michel. Dr. Dennis Weis, M.D., reviewed Michel’s medical records and affirmed Dr. Griffith’s opinion in April 2011.

On November 24, 2010, Dr. Keith F. Gibson, Ph.D., performed a consultative [588]*588psychological evaluation of Michel. Dr. Gibson observed that Michel walked with a “slow, cautious gait” and that her “[general body movements were quiet and subdued.” He opined that Michel’s “[a]ffeet was appropriate to thought content” and observed “[n]o lability3 of affect.” He described her “[predominant mood [as] depressed with persistent feelings of sadness and discouragement about the future.” He found her to be “anhedonic4 with increased irritability” and “preoccupied with physical aches and pains.” Dr. Gibson noted that Michel’s “performance on the Mini Mental Status Exam suggests that overall cognitive capacity is grossly intact with some difficulties in the areas of attention, concentration, and delayed recall.” He diagnosed Michel with pain disorder and mood disorder due to chronic fatigue syndrome with depressive features.

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Bluebook (online)
640 F. App'x 585, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/paula-michel-v-carolyn-w-colvin-ca8-2016.