(SS) Shah v. Commissioner of Social Security

CourtDistrict Court, E.D. California
DecidedJune 4, 2020
Docket2:19-cv-01184
StatusUnknown

This text of (SS) Shah v. Commissioner of Social Security ((SS) Shah v. Commissioner of Social Security) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. California primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
(SS) Shah v. Commissioner of Social Security, (E.D. Cal. 2020).

Opinion

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 11 PARIMAL K. SHAH, No. 2:19-cv-1184-KJN 12 Plaintiff, ORDER ON PARTIES’ CROSS-MOTIONS FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT 13 v. (ECF Nos. 12, 14) 14 COMMISSIONER OF SOCIAL SECURITY, 15 Defendant. 16 17 Plaintiff seeks judicial review of a final decision by the Commissioner of Social Security 18 denying his application for Disability Insurance Benefits under Title II of the Social Security 19 Act.1 In his summary judgment motion, plaintiff contends the Administrative Law Judge (“ALJ”) 20 erred by failing to treat his PTSD as severe, and by improperly rejecting his own testimony and 21 certain opinions of three supporting physicians. The Commissioner filed an opposition and filed 22 a cross–motion for summary judgment. 23 After considering the parties’ written briefing, the record, and the applicable law, the court 24 DENIES the Commissioner’s cross-motion for summary judgment, GRANTS IN PART 25 plaintiff’s motion for summary judgment, and REMANDS for further proceedings. 26

27 1 This action was referred to the undersigned pursuant to Local Rule 302(c)(15), and both parties voluntarily consented to proceed before a United States Magistrate Judge for all purposes. (ECF 28 Nos. 7, 8.) 1 I. BACKGROUND AND ALJ’S FIVE–STEP ANALYSIS2

2 On October 6, 2017, plaintiff filed a claim for disability, alleging an onset date of

3 November 30, 2016. (Se e Administrative Transcript (“AT”) 70-71.) Plaintiff listed as medical

4 conditions the following: “Ischemic heart disease, heart attack, stents placements; PTSD (anxiety

5 sleep disturbance paranoia etc.); Chronic pain: neck back hips shoulders legs; Osteoporosis;

6 Glaucoma; Planter fasciitis; Gulf War Syndrome (IBS insomnia pain etc.); Diabetes mellitus type

7 2; Tinnitus with bilateral hearing lo ss; Hiatal hernia.” (Id.) Plaintiff’s application was denied 8 initially and again upon reconsideration. (AT 70-81; 82-97.) Plaintiff, aided by an attorney, 9 sought review of these denials with an ALJ. (AT 118.) At a November 20, 2018 hearing, 10 plaintiff testified about his conditions, and the ALJ heard testimony from a vocational expert 11 regarding plaintiff’s ability to perform his past or other work. (AT 32-68.) 12 On January 25, 2019, the ALJ issued a decision determining plaintiff was not disabled 13 from his onset date through the present. (AT 15–26.) At Step One, the ALJ concluded that 14 plaintiff had not engaged in substantial gainful activity since November 30, 2016, his alleged 15 disability onset date. (AT 17.) At Step Two, the ALJ found that plaintiff had the following 16 severe impairments: degenerative disc disease; mild osteoarthritis of the bilateral hips; adhesive

17 2 Disability Insurance Benefits are paid to disabled persons who have contributed to the Social Security program. 42 U.S.C. §§ 401 et seq. Disability is defined, in part, as an “inability to 18 engage in any substantial gainful activity” due to “a medically determinable physical or mental 19 impairment. . . .” 42 U.S.C. § 423(d)(1)(a). A parallel five-step sequential evaluation governs eligibility for benefits. See 20 C.F.R. §§ 404.1520, 404.1571—76; Bowen v. Yuckert, 482 U.S. 20 137, 140—42 (1987). The following summarizes the sequential evaluation: Step One: Is the claimant engaging in substantial gainful activity? If so, the 21 claimant is found not disabled. If not, proceed to step two. Step Two: Does the claimant have a “severe” impairment? If so, proceed to step 22 three. If not, then a finding of not disabled is appropriate. 23 Step Three: Does the claimant’s impairment or combination of impairments meet or equal an impairment listed in 20 C.F.R., Pt. 404, Subpt. P, App. 1? If so, the 24 claimant is automatically determined disabled. If not, proceed to step four. Step Tour: Is the claimant capable of performing past relevant work? If so, the 25 claimant is not disabled. If not, proceed to step five. Step Five: Does the claimant have the residual functional capacity to perform any 26 other work? If so, the claimant is not disabled. If not, the claimant is disabled. 27 Lester v. Chater, 81 F.3d 821, 828 n.5 (9th Cir. 1995). The claimant bears the burden of proof in the first four steps of the sequential evaluation process. Bowen, 482 U.S. at 146 n.5. The 28 Commissioner bears the burden if the sequential evaluation process proceeds to step five. Id. 1 capsulitis; bilateral shoulders; and coronary artery disease. (Id.) Relevant here, the ALJ also

2 found plaintiff’s PTSD to “not cause more than minimal limitation in [his] ability to perform

3 basic mental work activi t i es.” (AT 18.) The ALJ determined at Step Three that plaintiff’s

4 impairments did not meet or medically equal the severity of an impairment listed in Appendix 1.

5 (Id.) (citing 20 C.F.R. Part 404, Subpart P, Appendix 1).)

6 Based on this information, the ALJ found plaintiff had the residual functional capacity

7 (“RFC”) to perform light work, exc ept that: 8 [He] cannot climb ladders, ropes, or scaffolds; can occasionally perform postural activities such as stooping, crouching, or crawling; 9 can occasionally perform overhead reaching; frequently perform other reaching; and frequently perform handling, fingering, and 10 feeling. 11 (AT 19-20.) In reaching this conclusion, the ALJ stated she considered plaintiff’s symptom 12 testimony, the objective medical evidence in the record, and the opinion evidence of multiple 13 physicians. (AT 20.) Relevant here, the ALJ found plaintiff’s testimony “concerning the 14 intensity, persistence, and limiting effects of [his] symptoms are not entirely consistent with the 15 medical evidence and other evidence in the record.” (AT 22.) This included a comparison of his 16 physical and mental functionality to various exam records, his receiving “generally conservative 17 treatment for his impairments[,]” and “normal level of daily activity.” (Id.) The ALJ also found 18 the more-limiting aspects of the medical opinions of Dr. Egan, Dr. Alpuerto, and Dr. Paltenghi to 19 be inconsistent with the record. (AT 23-24.) Finally, the ALJ noted that according to the medical 20 records, plaintiff’s PTSD symptoms were improving, and that plaintiff’s functioning “was 21 decreased slightly [due to] normal life stressors, [not PTSD].” (AT 24.) Ultimately, the ALJ 22 concluded at Step Four that plaintiff was capable of performing his past relevant work, or 23 alternatively that he could perform other jobs existing in significant numbers in the national 24 economy. (AT 25–26.) 25 On May 29, 2019, the Appeals Council denied plaintiff’s request for review. (AT 1–6.) 26 Plaintiff then filed this action within sixty days requesting judicial review of the Commissioner’s 27 final decision; the parties filed cross–motions for summary judgment. (ECF Nos. 1, 12, 14, 15.) 28 /// 1 II. LEGAL STANDARD

2 The court reviews the Commissioner’s decision de novo, and should reverse “only if the

3 ALJ's decision was not s u pported by substantial evidence in the record as a whole or if the ALJ

4 applied the wrong legal standard.” Buck v. Berryhill, 869 F. 3d 1040, 1048 (9th Cir. 2017).

5 Substantial evidence is more than a mere scintilla, but less than a preponderance; i.e. “such

6 relevant evidence as a reasonable mind might accept as adequate to support a conclusion.”

7 Edlund v.

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(SS) Shah v. Commissioner of Social Security, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/ss-shah-v-commissioner-of-social-security-caed-2020.