Sorber v. Comm'r of Soc. Sec. Admin.

362 F. Supp. 3d 712
CourtDistrict Court, D. Arizona
DecidedJanuary 23, 2019
DocketNo. CV-17-08198-PCT-BSB
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 362 F. Supp. 3d 712 (Sorber v. Comm'r of Soc. Sec. Admin.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Arizona primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Sorber v. Comm'r of Soc. Sec. Admin., 362 F. Supp. 3d 712 (D. Ariz. 2019).

Opinion

Bridget S. Bade, United States Magistrate Judge

Plaintiff Linda Lorraine Sorber seeks judicial review of the decision of the Commissioner of Social Security (the "Commissioner") denying her application for benefits under the Social Security Act (the "Act"). The parties have consented to proceed before a United States Magistrate Judge pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 636(b) and have filed briefs in accordance with Local Rule of Civil Procedure 16.1. For the following reasons, the Court reverses the Commissioner's decision and remands for a determination of benefits.

I. Procedural Background

On March 11, 2013, Plaintiff applied for social security disability insurance and supplemental security income benefits under the Act. (Tr. 13, 47.)1 After the Social Security Administration ("SSA") denied Plaintiff's initial application and her request *715for reconsideration, she requested a hearing before an administrative law judge ("ALJ"). (Tr. 13.) After conducting a hearing, on February 18, 2016, the ALJ issued a decision finding Plaintiff not disabled under the Act. (Tr. 23-26.) On July 16, 2017, the Social Security Administration Appeals Council denied Plaintiff's request for review. (Tr. 1-6.) Plaintiff now seeks judicial review of the ALJ's decision pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 405(g).

II. Administrative Record

The record before the Court establishes the following history of diagnoses and treatment related to Plaintiff's impairments, including degenerative disc disease, cervical and lumbar spondylosis, Meniere's disease /vestibular migraines, osteopenia, and chronic pain syndrome. (Tr. 15.) The record also includes several medical opinions.

A. Relevant Treatment History

1. Treatment for Meniere Disease, Dizziness, and Headaches

In 2012, Plaintiff began seeing Terrance J. Kwiatkowski, M.D., for dizziness and headaches. (Tr. 513-14.) In August 2012, Dr. Kwiatkowski performed surgery for "left Meniere disease with endolymphatic hydrops." (Tr. 508.) In November 2012, Plaintiff had surgery for "left serous otitis media with eustacian tube dysfunction." (Tr. 493.) Plaintiff's dizziness and headaches persisted and in November 2012 Dr. Kwiatkowski noted that Plaintiff had been "spinning" since the night before her appointment. (Tr. 487-88.) In December 2012, Plaintiff presented to the emergency room with dizziness. (Tr. 425-30.)

During a January 2013 appointment with Dr. Kwiatkowski, Plaintiff reported "left ear was full/dizzy/hard to walk/unsteady/feels strange/imbalanced. [No] spinning today. Constant dizziness." (Tr. 484.) At a March 2013 appointment, Plaintiff reported "room spinning [for] 1 week." (Tr. 481.) In April 2013, Dr. Kwiatkowski noted that Plaintiff reported dizziness and that the "room spins." (Tr. 787-88.) In May 2013, Plaintiff complained of unsteadiness. (Tr. 706.) Dr. Kwiatkowski noted that "balance therapy is critical for her problem and that in addition to her Meniere's disease her benign paroxysmal positional vertigo is a huge issue with her as is her eustacian tube dysfunction ... which has gotten worse with time despite[ ] lack of true spinning vertigo." (Id. ) Dr. Kwiatkowski opined that Plaintiff had "multifactorial balance disorder benign positional vertigoMeniere's disease and left eustacian tube dysfunction." (Tr. 702.) Dr. Kwiatkowski recommended that Plaintiff attend balance therapy as many times as possible. (Tr. 707.) Two weeks later, Dr. Kwiatkowski tested Plaintiff's dizziness with several physical maneuvers, and noted her dizziness was improving, but "during the [Epley] maneuver she does spin." (Tr. 702.)

In May 2013, Plaintiff went to the emergency room with dizziness that was not relieved by medication. (Tr. 560.) In May and June 2013, Plaintiff had several balance therapy appointments. (Tr. 552.) Upon discharge, physical therapist David Lowe stated that Plaintiff's "vertigo is not improving despite manual therapy (cannalith repositioning), clinical balance retraining, [and] daily home Epley maneuvers." (Id. ) In July 2013, Dr. Kwiatkowski removed Plaintiff's left ear tube, and suggested she may have temporomandibular joint ("TMJ") disorder. (Tr. 699.) He noted that Plaintiff had continued unsteadiness. (Id. ) In July 2013, an MRI of Plaintiff's brain revealed that Plaintiff had left-sided mastoiditis and alteration of deep white matter in the frontal lobes, suggesting possibly mild ischemic changes, migraine, or vasculitis. (Tr. 596.)

*716In July 2013, neurologist M.A. Nayer, M.D., noted that Plaintiff had intermittent dizziness that worsened with changes in position or standing, and tinnitus and hearing impairment on the left side. (Tr. 750.) Dr. Nayer observed reduced sensation in Plaintiff's lower extremities and a positive Romberg sign. (Id. ) Plaintiff went to the emergency room in August 2013 with dizziness and headaches. (Tr. 610-13.) In August 2013, an EEG was normal. (Tr. 759.) During a September 2013 appointment with Dr. Nayer, Plaintiff reported that she was dizzy, sometimes confused and disoriented, felt off balance, had difficulty walking, had bilateral lower extremity pain, difficulty staying asleep, and daytime fatigue. (Tr. 748.) During a November 2013 appointment with Dr. Nayer, Plaintiff reported neck pain that sometimes radiated to her shoulders, impaired sleep because of pain, and continued dizziness. (Tr. 746.) Dr. Nayer observed that Plaintiff had reduced sensation in her lower extremities, reduced proprioception, and a positive Romberg sign. (Id. )

During a January 2014 appointment with Dr. Kwiatkowski, Plaintiff reported vertigo, ear pain, and worsening spinning sensations. (Tr. 695.) Plaintiff had two physical therapy appointments in March and April 2014 and upon discharge the physical therapist noted that home exercise initially "greatly helped" Plaintiff's vertigo, but her symptoms returned. (Tr. 736.) The physical therapist recommended that Plaintiff obtain "a single-point cane for community ambulation." (Id. ) In April 2014, Plaintiff went to the emergency room with dizziness. (Tr. 726-27.)

In July 2014, Plaintiff had a consultation for vertigo with Ian Crain, M.D., at the Barrow Movement Disorders Clinic. (Tr. 859.) Plaintiff described intermittent but daily room-spinning episodes, which lasted two to three minutes, occurred randomly, and were worsened by movement. (Id. ) She also had ear fullness, tinnitus, and headaches. (Id. ) She reported that no previous treatments had been helpful. (Id. ) Positioning Plaintiff during the examination caused "intense vertigo with lying down that caused her to be very anxious and nauseous." (Tr. 861.) Dr. Crain observed that Plaintiff's "balance was intact," she had a positive Romberg's sign, her tandem gait was abnormal, heel and toe walking was normal, and Plaintiff walked without assistance. (Id. ) Dr.

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362 F. Supp. 3d 712, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/sorber-v-commr-of-soc-sec-admin-azd-2019.