Thieman v. Commissioner of Social Security

989 F. Supp. 2d 624, 2013 WL 4010658, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 110778
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. Ohio
DecidedAugust 6, 2013
DocketCase No. 3:12-cv-171
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 989 F. Supp. 2d 624 (Thieman v. Commissioner of Social Security) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. Ohio primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Thieman v. Commissioner of Social Security, 989 F. Supp. 2d 624, 2013 WL 4010658, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 110778 (S.D. Ohio 2013).

Opinion

ORDER ADOPTING REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION

WALTER HERBERT RICE, District Judge.

The Court has reviewed the Report and Recommendation of United States Magis[627]*627trate Judge Michael J. Newman (Doc. # 17), to whom this case was referred pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 636(b), and noting that no objections have been filed thereto and that the time for filing such objections under Fed.R.Civ.P. 72(b) has expired, hereby ADOPTS said Report and Recommendation.

Accordingly, it is hereby ORDERED that:

1. The Report and Recommendation filed on July 12, 2013 (Doc. # 17) is ADOPTED in full;
2. The Commissioner’s non-disability determination is REVERSED;
3. This matter is REMANDED to the Commissioner under the Fourth Sentence of 42 U.S.C. § 405(g) for proceedings consistent with this Report and Recommendation; and
4. This case is terminated on the docket of this Court.

REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION1 THAT: (1) THE ALJ’S NON-DISABILITY FINDING BE FOUND UNSUPPORTED BY SUBSTANTIAL EVIDENCE, AND REVERSED; (2) THIS MATTER BE REMANDED TO THE COMMISSIONER UNDER THE FOURTH SENTENCE OF 42 U.S.C. § 405(g) FOR PROCEEDINGS CONSISTENT WITH THIS OPINION; AND (3) THIS CASE BE CLOSED

MICHAEL J. NEWMAN, United States Magistrate Judge.

This is a Social Security appeal brought pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 405(g). At issue is whether the Administrative Law Judge (“ALJ”) erred in finding Plaintiff not “disabled” within the meaning of the Social Security Act and therefore unentitled to Disability Insurance Benefits (“DIB”).

This case is before the Court upon Plaintiffs Statement of Errors (doc. 11), the Commissioner’s Memorandum in Opposition (doc. 15), Plaintiffs Reply (doc. 16), the administrative record (doc. 6),2 and the record as a whole.

I. BACKGROUND

A.

Plaintiff filed an application for DIB on February 7, 2007, asserting that she has been under a “disability” since October 1, 2003. PagelD 176-78. Plaintiff claims she is disabled due to a number of impairments including, inter alia, syncopal episodes3 and seizure symptoms, extremely low blood pressure, migraine headaches, depression, pain, and memory loss. See PagelD 227. Following initial administrative denials of her application, Plaintiff received a hearing before ALJ Amelia Lombardo on September 29, 2009. PagelD 90-123. On February 26, 2010, ALJ Lombardo issued a written decision, concluding that Plaintiff was not disabled. PagelD 63-79. Specifically, ALJ Lombardo’s “Findings” were as follows:

1. The claimant meets the insured status requirements of the Social Security Act through June 30, 2012;
[628]*6282. The claimant has not engaged in substantial gainful activity since October 1, 2003, the alleged onset date (20 C.F.R. 404.1571 et seq.);
3. The claimant has the following severe impairments: cervical degenerative disc disease; syncopal episodes, diagnosed by the Cleveland Clinic in 2003 as positional orthostatic hypotension; and depression (20 C.F.R. 404.1520(c));
4. The claimant does not have an impairment or combination of impairments that meets or medically equals one of the listed impairments in 20 C.F.R. Part 404, Sub-part P, Appendix 1 (20 C.F.R. 404.1520(d), 404.1525 and 404.1526);
5. After careful consideration of the entire record, the [ALJ] finds that the claimant has the residual functional capacity [RFC] to perform light work as defined in 20 C.F.R. 404.1567(b) except that her work must involve no exposure to heights, hazards, commercial driving, or balancing. She can perform only unskilled, low stress work (defined as not fast-paced and no assembly line production quotas);[4]
6. The claimant is unable to perform any [of her] past relevant work (20 C.F.R. 404.1565);
7. The claimant was born [in ... ] 1963 and was 40 years old, which is defined as a younger individual age 18-49, on the alleged disability onset date (20 C.F.R. 404.1563);
8. The claimant has at least a high school education and is able to communicate in English (20 C.F.R. 404.1564);
9. Transferability of job skills is not material to the determination of disability because using the Medical-Vocational Rules as a framework supports a finding that the claimant is “not disabled,” whether or not the claimant has transferable job skills (See SSR 82-41 and 20 C.F.R. Part 404, Subpart P, Appendix 2);
10. Considering the claimant’s age, education, work experience, and residual functional capacity, there are jobs that exist in significant numbers in the national economy that the claimant can perform (20 C.F.R. 404.1569 and 404.1569(a)); and
11. The claimant has not been under a disability, as defined in the Social Security Act, from October 1, 2003 through the date of this decision (20 C.F.R. 404.1520(g)).

PagelD 65-79 (brackets, ellipses and footnote added).

Thereafter, the Appeals Council denied Plaintiffs request for review, making the ALJ’s non-disability finding the final administrative decision of the Commissioner. PagelD 55-59. See Casey v. Sec’y of Health & Human Servs., 987 F.2d 1230, [629]*6291233 (6th Cir.1993). Plaintiff then filed this appeal on June 8, 2012. Doc. 1.

B.

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Bluebook (online)
989 F. Supp. 2d 624, 2013 WL 4010658, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 110778, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/thieman-v-commissioner-of-social-security-ohsd-2013.