Scott v. Bowen

652 F. Supp. 1477, 1987 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 898, 16 Soc. Serv. Rev. 695
CourtDistrict Court, N.D. Indiana
DecidedFebruary 11, 1987
DocketNo. S 84-81
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 652 F. Supp. 1477 (Scott v. Bowen) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. Indiana primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Scott v. Bowen, 652 F. Supp. 1477, 1987 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 898, 16 Soc. Serv. Rev. 695 (N.D. Ind. 1987).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER

ALLEN SHARP, Chief Judge.

I.

The plaintiff brings her case pursuant to § 205(g) of the Social Security Act, 42 [1478]*1478U.S.C. § 405(g), for judicial review of the Secretary’s final decision denying her application for disability benefits. Both parties having filed motions for Summary Judgment, the matter is ripe for ruling.

A.

The basic issue presented to the court is whether or not the final decision of the Secretary, in this case the decision of the Appeals Council, is supported by substantial evidence. Since the Council appears to have decided the case at step four of its procedural process, having acknowledged the severity of Mrs. Scott’s impairments, the more particular issue is whether substantial evidence supports the Appeals Council’s finding that the claimant’s impairments do not prevent her from performing her past relevant work. For the reasons set forth, the court finds the required evidence to be lacking.

The administration denied the plaintiff’s disability initially on November 23, 1981 and on reconsideration March 19, 1982. Upon a hearing on April 8, 1983, the Administrative Law Judge (AU) found Mrs. Scott to be disabled. Essentially he found that the claimant was unable to perform her past work as a kitchen helper due to squeezing chest pain of undetermined etiology but probably of cardiac origin, and back pain with degenerative arthritis. Having found no combination of impairments in the listed impairments, the ALJ found a capacity for work activities which would not require bending, stooping, walking fast, or lifting or carrying over 10 pounds, which he classified as less than a full range of light work. He further found nonexertional limitations in the form of the need to avoid manual contact with various substances due to a skin condition. The AU recognized the claimant as closely approaching advanced age, and as being illiterate with a limited education. Having reviewed Rules 202.16 and 201.17 Section 404.1569 Regulation 4, Appendix 2, Subpart P, the AU found no significant number of jobs in the national economy which the claimant could perform.

On its own initiative, the Appeals Council reversed this decision on November 21, 1983, finding as follows:

1. The claimant met the special earnings requirements of the Act on February 9,1981, the date that the claimant stated she became unable to work, and continues to meet them through December 31, 1985.
2. The claimant has the following impairments: chest pain of unknown etiology, a mild L4-5, SI radiculopathy of the lumbar spine, and hand eczema.
3. The Appeals Council does not find the claimant’s subjective complaints, including pain, to be credible.
4. The claimant has the residual functional capacity to perform work-related functions except for work involving a full range of medium and heavy physical exertion.
5. The claimant’s past relevant work as cafeteria counter attendant did not require a full range of medium and heavy physical exertion.
6. The claimant’s impairments do not prevent the performance of this past relevant work.
7. The claimant was not under a “disability,” as defined in the Social Security Act, at any time through May 6, 1983, the date of the decision of the administrative law judge.

B.

The Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit recently joined the majority of other Circuit Courts in interpreting the Social Security Regulations to authorize the Appeals Council to review an AU’s decision on its own initiative for any reason in Bauzo v. Bowen, 803 F.2d 917 (7th Cir.1986). See also Welch v. Sec., 808 F.2d 264 (3d Cir.1986); Mullen v. Bowen, 800 F.2d 535 (6th Cir.1986); Lopez-Cardona v. Sec., 747 F.2d 1081 (1st Cir.1984) (per curiam); Kellough v. Heckler, 785 F.2d 1147 (4th Cir. 1986); Deters v. Sec., 789 F.2d 1181 (5th Cir.1986); Baker v. Heckler, 730 F.2d 1147 (8th Cir.1984); Razey v. Heckler, 785 F.2d [1479]*14791426 (9th Cir.1986); Fierro v. Bowen, 798 F.2d 1351 (10th Cir.1986); Parker v. Bowen, 788 F.2d 1512 (11th Cir.1986) (en banc). The court’s attention, therefore, turns to whether the Council’s findings were based on substantial evidence from a review of the record as a whole. Although the court will not reweigh evidence, decide facts anew, or substitute judgment for that of the Secretary, Bauzo, 803 F.2d at 923, Delgado v. Bowen, 782 F.2d 79, 82 (7th Cir. 1986) (per curiam), neither will the court act as an uncritical rubber stamp for the Secretary’s decision, Bauzo, 803 F.2d at 923, Delgado, 782 F.2d at 82. “Although the findings of the AU are not binding on the Council, they should not be ignored,” Bauzo, 803 F.2d at 822. The substantial evidence required to support the Council’s decision must be such that a reasonable mind might accept it as adequate to support a conclusion. If the record contains such support, the court must affirm absent an error of law, Richardson v. Perales, 402 U.S. 389, 91 S.Ct. 1420, 28 L.Ed.2d 842 (1971), Fox v. Heckler, 776 F.2d 738 (7th Cir.1985). The evidence required is more than a mere scintilla, Bauzo, 803 F.2d at 923, Delgado, 782 F.2d at 82.

In formulating its findings the Appeals Council painstakingly reviewed the medical evidence presented by various doctors and examiners. In summary, the record showed that Mrs. Scott was hospitalized from March 4 to March 16, 1979, with a final diagnosis of unstable angina, coronary ischemia, acute inferior wall, anxiety, and cervical spondylosis. She was readmitted November 23 to 30, 1979, with a diagnosis of lumbosacral spine strain, seborrheic dermatitis of the face, atopic hand eczema, angina pectoris, and hypertension. Upon readmission February 9 to February 19, 1981, her final diagnosis was low back strain, degenerative arthritis, and anemia. A subsequent hospitalization from April 6, 1981 to April 21, 1981 resulted in a final diagnosis of unstable angina, degenerative arthritis, gastritis, and history of pleurisy.

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Bluebook (online)
652 F. Supp. 1477, 1987 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 898, 16 Soc. Serv. Rev. 695, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/scott-v-bowen-innd-1987.