Samuel Buford v. Carolyn W. Colvin

824 F.3d 793, 2016 U.S. App. LEXIS 10001, 2016 WL 3094247
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit
DecidedJune 2, 2016
Docket15-3006
StatusPublished
Cited by118 cases

This text of 824 F.3d 793 (Samuel Buford 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
Samuel Buford v. Carolyn W. Colvin, 824 F.3d 793, 2016 U.S. App. LEXIS 10001, 2016 WL 3094247 (8th Cir. 2016).

Opinion

SHEPHERD, Circuit Judge.

Samuel Buford applied for disability insurance benefits (“DIB”) pursuant to Title II of the Social Security Act, 42 U.S.C. § 405, alleging disability due to gout, arthritis, back pain, diabetes, high blood pressure, and obesity. His application was denied initially and again upon reconsideration. After a hearing, an administrative law judge (“ALJ”) denied Buford’s claim and the appeals council denied Buford’s administrative appeal, making the ALJ’s decision the final decision of the Commissioner of the Social Security Administration (“Commissioner”). Buford commenced this action, seeking judicial review of the agency’s denial of benefits and the district court 1 affirmed the decision of the agency. From that decision, Buford appeals. We affirm.

I.

Buford was 56 years old at the time of the administrative hearing. He has an eleventh-grade education with past work experience as a farm worker. He testified at *795 the hearing that he can no longer work due to gout, arthritis, diabetes, and high blood pressure.

In his written decision, the ALJ found, at step one of the sequential evaluation process, that Buford had not engaged in substantial gainful activity since October 15, 2012, the alleged onset date. At step two, the ALJ found that Buford has severe impairments consisting of: gout, diabetes, hypertension, and obesity. At step three, the ALJ found that Buford did not have an impairment or combination of impairments that meets or equals one of the listed impairments in 20 C.F.R. Part 404, Sub-part P, Appendix 1. At the fourth step, the ALJ found that Buford has the residual functional capacity (“RFC”) to perform medium work except that he can only occa-siohally kneel and crawl; can only occasionally climb ladders/ropes/scaffolds; but can frequently climb ramps/stairs, balance, stoop, and crouch. At the fifth step, the ALJ found that Buford was capable of performing his past relevant work as a farm worker, which does not require the performance of work-related activities precluded by Buford’s RFC.

II.

On appeal, Buford alleges generally that the ALJ’s decision is not supported by substantial evidence in the record as a whole. We review a district court’s decision upholding the denial of social security benefits de novo. Pelkey v. Barnhart, 433 F.3d 575, 577 (8th Cir. 2006). We must affirm if the decision of the Commissioner is supported by substantial evidence on the record as a whole. See Partee v. Astrue, 638 F.3d 860, 863 (8th Cir. 2011); Harris v. Barnhart, 356 F.3d 926, 928 (8th Cir. 2004). “Substantial evidence is less than a preponderance, but enough that a reasonable mind would find it adequate to support the ALJ’s determination.” Guilliams v. Barnhart, 393 F.3d 798, 801 (8th Cir. 2005). In this review, we consider that evidence which detracts from the Commissioner’s decision, as well as the evidence in support of the decision. Karlix v. Barnhart, 457 F.3d 742, 746 (8th Cir. 2006). However, we will not reverse simply because some evidence supports a conclusion other than that reached by the Commissioner. Pelkey, 433 F.3d at 578. Likewise, we defer to an ALJ’s well-reasoned determinations of credibility, if they are supported in the record by substantial evidence. Id.

Buford challenges the ALJ’s determination that Buford possesses the RFC to perform medium work with certain limitations, asserting that if the ALJ had properly determined that Buford was limited to light work, Buford would have been disabled under the medical-vocational guidelines. 20 C.F.R. Part 404, Subpart P, Appendix 2, Rule 202.02. Specifically, he contends that the ALJ’s RFC finding is inconsistent with medical evidence showing that he has a history of chronic back and leg pain due to arthritis and gout which impairs his ability to sit, stand, and walk and with the medical record reflecting a history of bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome and arthritis in his upper extremities. Buford further asserts that the ALJ should have further developed the record by requiring a consultative examination or by re-contacting Buford’s treating doctors.

A review of the medical record before the ALJ reveals the following. Buford was treated at the Crittenden Regional Hospital (“Crittenden”) on November 7, 2012 for pain, tenderness, and swelling in his left foot exacerbated by walking. Examination revealed an antalgic gait and left foot tenderness and swelling. However, joint examination was normal and Buford had normal range of motion, sensation and motor strength, no vascular compromise, and his pulses were full and equal. Buford was *796 treated for left foot gout with an injection of Toradol and a prescription for Napro-syn. Two days later, although he had not filled the prescription for the pain medication, Buford again sought treatment at the East Arkansas Family Health Center (“East Arkansas FHC”) for left foot pain. Examination revealed swelling/redness and tenderness of left great toe. Buford was administered Indomethacin and Pred-nisone and Depo Medrol.

Buford was again seen at the East Arkansas FHC on February 5, 2013. Examination revealed no edema and normal peripheral pulses. Allopurinol and a Medrol Pak was prescribed for gout. Injections of Depo Medrol and Toradol were also administered. At his six week follow-up visit, Buford had not filled his prescription for Allopurinol and complained of left foot pain and difficulty in walking and standing for long periods. His general examination was normal. On May 6, 2013, Buford went to the emergency room at Crittenden complaining of right foot pain. He was referred to the East Arkansas FHC, where examination of the lower extremities revealed no swelling. On June 21, 2013, Buford returned to the East Arkansas FHC reporting that his gout was flaring up making it hard for him to work. He complained of joint stiffness every morning and bilateral pain in the wrist, ankles, and bottom of his feet. The examining Advanced Practice Nurse recorded no abnormal findings and continued Buford’s medication. On September 16, 2013, Buford reported that “gout is flaring up in [his] left arm and hand” and that his arm had “gave out on him.”

On December 5, 2013 Buford underwent a nerve conduction study which revealed mild neuropathy of the wrists, mild ulnar neuropathy at the elbows, and early sensory neuropathy. Five days later, he complained that his lower back and left arm had been “really bothering, him,” with numbness and tingling in his left arm and hand. Again, the examination was not abnormal, Buford’s medications were continued, and Ultram was added for his back pain.

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824 F.3d 793, 2016 U.S. App. LEXIS 10001, 2016 WL 3094247, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/samuel-buford-v-carolyn-w-colvin-ca8-2016.