Quaglia v. Colvin

52 F. Supp. 3d 323, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 143889, 2014 WL 5151117
CourtDistrict Court, D. Massachusetts
DecidedOctober 8, 2014
DocketCivil Action No. 1:09-10417-WGY
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 52 F. Supp. 3d 323 (Quaglia v. Colvin) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Massachusetts primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Quaglia v. Colvin, 52 F. Supp. 3d 323, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 143889, 2014 WL 5151117 (D. Mass. 2014).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OF DECISION

YOUNG, District Judge.

I. INTRODUCTION

Carlene M. Quaglia (“Quaglia”) brings this action against Carolyn W. Colvin,1 Acting Commissioner of the Social Security Administration (the “Commissioner”). Quaglia asks this Court to reverse and remand the Commissioner’s decision denying Quaglia’s application for Social Security Disability Insurance Benefits and Supplemental Security Income. Pl.’s Mot. Reverse Decision Comm’r (“Quaglia’s Mot.”), ECF No. 18. 'The Commissioner requests an order affirming the decision. Mot. Order Affirming Decision Comm’r (“Def.’s Mot.”), ECF No. 22.

A. Procedural Posture2

Quaglia filed for Social Security Disability Insurance benefits and Supplemental Security Income on June 24, 2004, asserting disability beginning September 1, 2003. Pl.’s Mem. Supp. Mot. Reverse Decision Comm’r (“Quaglia’s Mem.”) 1, ECF No. 19. After an initial denial of benefits, Quaglia requested a hearing on May 12, 2005. Administrative Record (“Admin. R. ”) 79.3 She appeared and testified at a hearing before Administrative Law Judge Barry H. Best (the “first hearing officer”) on August 17, 2006. Id. at 79, 88. Quag-lia, her attorney, a medical expert, and a vocational expert appeared at a supplemental hearing held November 21, 2006. Quaglia’s Mem. 2. In an opinion dated January 26, 2007, the first hearing officer determined Quaglia was entitled to neither disability insurance benefits nor supplemental security income. Admin. R. 88. The Appeals Council denied Quaglia’s request for review, prompting her to appeal to this Court for relief. Quaglia’s Mem. 2.

Quaglia filed the complaint in this action on March 18, 2009, requesting this court reverse the first hearing officer’s decision denying benefits. Compl. 1, ECF No. 1. For reasons not clear from the record or the parties’ filings, the transcript from the November 21, 2006 hearing could not be located, prompting the Commissioner to request voluntary remand to the agency to carry out further proceedings and to reconstruct the administrative record. Def.’s Assented Mot. Remand Case Further Admin. Action Pursuant Sentence 6 42 U.S.C. § 405(g), ECF No. 9. This Court granted that motion in January 2010. Order Remand, Jan. 7, 2010, ECF No. 10.

On September 27, 2010, a new hearing occurred at the Social Security Administration before Administrative Law Judge Joel F. Gardiner (the “hearing officer”). Quaglia’s Mem. 2. Quaglia, her attorney, and á vocational expert appeared. Id. The hearing officer rendered unfavorable decisions in a recommended decision dated [327]*327October 15, 2010, and a final decision dated January 19, 2011, which both concluded Quaglia was not disabled and denied benefits. See Admin. R. 16-39. On April 3, 2012, the Appeals Council declined to exercise jurisdiction, id. at 7, finalizing the hearing officer’s decision and leading to the reinstatement of the case before this Court on May 21, 2012. Assented Mot. Vacate Order Remand & Reinstate Case & Request Leave File Answer 1, ECF No. 13; Electronic Order, May 21, 2012.

The Commissioner answered Quaglia’s original complaint on September 5, 2012. Answer, ECF No. 14. On November 12, 2012, Quaglia filed a motion to reverse the Commissioner’s decision, together with a memorandum in support. Quaglia’s Mot; Quaglia’s Mem. The Commissioner in turn filed a motion to affirm the decision with a memorandum in support on January 23, 2013. Def.’s Mot.; Mem. Supp. Comm’r’s Mot. (“Def.’s Mem.”), ECF No. 23.

B. Facts

Quaglia was a thirty-five year old woman with a college education when the purported disability started; on the date of the Commissioner’s decision, Quaglia was forty-two years old. Quaglia’s Mem. 2. Quaglia contends that her various physical and psychological ailments—including peripheral neuropathy and neuropathic pain, pancreatitis, and depression—constitute a disability that rendered her unable to work during the relevant period. Id. at 2-3; Admin. R. 700. She was insured for disability through September 30, 2007. Quaglia’s Mem. 2. Quaglia alleges a period of disability of roughly six and a half years, running from September 2003 to March 2010. Def.’s Mem. 2.

1. Relevant Work and Medical History

Quaglia has held a variety of occupations, including jobs as a personal care assistant, deli clerk, after school instructor, and waitress. Admin. R. 698. She apparently struggled to hold on to these positions due to failure to show, lateness, and making excuses to switch her schedule around. Id. at 696, 698.

Quaglia has a history of depression and alcohol abuse. Id. at 705, 708. She was admitted to a treatment center from March to April 2004 for psychiatric and substance abuse reasons. Id. at 241. After the treatment stint, she quit drinking alcohol entirely and maintained her sobriety. Id. at 709. Sometime in or around 2008, Quaglia’s mother and aunt committed her for psychiatric treatment for belligerence and depression. See id. at 707.

Quaglia’s disability claim stems from physical and psychological conditions that she alleges prevented her from engaging in gainful employment. Id. at 699-700.

a. Physical Disability

Physically, Quaglia has peripheral neu-ropathy in her hands and feet. Id. at 700. The condition limits her ability, to walk, and her feet hurt constantly. Id. at 155. At the hearing, she testified that she can stand for “maybe an hour if [she] ha[s] to, but [she] feel[s] pain all the time.” Id. at 719. She described her pain as 10 out of 10, lessening to 8 out of 10 with medication that she takes three times each day. Id. at 719-21.

Throughout the period of alleged disability, a number of doctors attended to Quaglia. In July 2004, Dr. Ranbir Dhillon diagnosed her with neuropathy related to ' alcohol abuse “with predominantly sensory symptoms.” Id. at 243. Dr. Edgar Ross (“Dr. Ross”) confirmed this diagnosis in January 2005, noting alcohol and peripheral neuropathy with “decreased pinprick sensation in the lower extremities.” Id. at 305. By December 2005, Dr. Ross observed that it was “difficult to understand how [the loss of sensation] could be related [328]*328to alcohol, when [Quaglia] reports that she has not had a drink in 20 months.” Id. at 352. That same month, Dr. Fereshteh Soumekh also diagnosed peripheral neuro-pathy. Id. at 353-54.

In February 2005, Dr. Jean Siddall-Bensson (“Dr. Siddall-Bensson”), Quaglia’s primary care physician, reported that she suffered from distal neuropathy and irritable bowel syndrome, limiting her ability to walk distances greater than one block and to stand for longer than twenty to thirty minutes. Id. at 294-95. Dr. Siddall-Bensson opined that Quaglia was “unable to work.” Id. at 297. Dr. Siddall-Bens-son again concluded in October 2005 that Quaglia was limited in her ability to walk, stand, or lift things, and experienced pain in her lower extremities. Id. at 334. In May 2006, Dr. Ross opined that Quaglia was unable to sit, stand, or walk for more than two hours during an eight-hour workday, and that she suffered from severe pain. Id. at 336-37.

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52 F. Supp. 3d 323, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 143889, 2014 WL 5151117, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/quaglia-v-colvin-mad-2014.