Turner v. Commissioner of Social Security

182 F. App'x 946
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
DecidedMay 31, 2006
Docket05-15919
StatusUnpublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 182 F. App'x 946 (Turner v. Commissioner of Social Security) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Turner v. Commissioner of Social Security, 182 F. App'x 946 (11th Cir. 2006).

Opinion

*948 PER CURIAM:

Alice Turner appeals the district court’s order affirming the Commissioner’s denial of disability insurance benefits for the period between April 28, 1993, and April 20, 1998, 42 U.S.C. § 405(g). Turner argues the Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) erred in (1) finding her only severe impairment was degenerative disc disease; (2) finding her non-exertional impairments were not severe; and (3) posing employment hypotheticals to the Vocational Experts (VEs) that failed to depict her impairments accurately. We affirm.

“We review the Commissioner’s decision to determine if it is supported by substantial evidence and based upon proper legal standards.” Lewis v. Callahan, 125 F.3d 1436, 1439 (11th Cir.1997). “Substantial evidence is defined as more than a scintilla, i.e., evidence that must do more than create a suspicion of the existence of the fact to be established, and such relevant evidence as a reasonable person would accept as adequate to support the conclusion.” Foote v. Chater, 67 F.3d 1553, 1560 (11th Cir.1995) (citation omitted).

Turner first asserts the ALJ erred in finding her only severe impairment was degenerative disc disease, arguing the ALJ failed to consider her other back conditions as separate severe impairments. Where, as here, a claimant is not involved in substantial gainful activity, the Commissioner “determines whether a claimant has a ‘severe’ impairment or combination of impairments that causes more than a minimal limitation on a claimant’s ability to function.” Davis v. Shalala, 985 F.2d 528, 532 (11th Cir.1993). The claimant bears the burden of proving she has a severe impairment or combination of impairments. Jones v. Apfel, 190 F.3d 1224, 1228 (11th Cir.1999). “An impairment or combination of impairments is not severe if it does not significantly limit [the claimant’s] physical or mental ability to do basic work activities.” 20 C.F.R. § 404.1521(a); see also Crayton v. Callahan, 120 F.3d 1217, 1219 (11th Cir.1997).

The ALJ considered Turner’s various back conditions—a herniated disc, several bulging discs, osteophyte formation encroaching on the nerve root canal, scoliosis, osteoarthritis, and bone spurring— as manifestations of her degenerative disc disease rather than separate impairments. The medical evidence supports this finding. Each physician who diagnosed Turner concluded she suffered from degenerative disc disease. Although her other back conditions were noted in certain physician reports, they were either not designated as distinct diagnoses or were not consistently conclusive. Furthermore, Turner did not submit any evidence that the AL J’s finding regarding her severe impairment was incorrect; nor did she submit any evidence to show the other conditions were severe individually. Substantial evidence thus supports that the ALJ, in finding Turner’s severe impairment was degenerative disc disease, considered the effect of each impairment individually and in combination.

Turner next argues the ALJ failed to consider her pain, medication side-effects, and learning disability as separate, nonexertional impairments. When a claimant attempts to establish disability through her own testimony of pain or other subjective symptoms, she must show: (1) evidence of an underlying medical condition; and (2) either (a) objective medical evidence that confirms the severity of the alleged pain arising from that condition, or (b) that the objectively determined medical condition is of such a severity it can be reasonably expected to give rise to the alleged pain. Holt v. Sullivan, 921 F.2d 1221, 1223 (11th Cir.1991). “A claimant’s subjective testimony supported by medical evidence that satisfies the pain standard is itself sufficient to support a finding of dis *949 ability.” Foote, 67 F.3d at 1561. “If the [Commissioner] decides not to credit such testimony, he must discredit it explicitly, and articulate explicit and adequate reasons for doing so.” Brown v. Sullivan, 921 F.2d 1233, 1236 (11th Cir.1991) (citation omitted).

The ALJ did not err in applying the pain standard or discrediting Turner’s subjective testimony of pain because the medical evidence does not confirm the severity of pain Turner alleged to have suffered. Every medical assessment expressing an opinion about Turner’s capacity, except for one, concluded Turner could perform a range of light work with some additional limitations, such as not stooping. Furthermore, Turner’s daily activities, including her admission that she looked for work while she was allegedly disabled, were inconsistent with her complaints of disabling pain. Although Turner’s degenerative disc disease could reasonably cause pain, the pain she alleged is disproportionate to the medical evidence. Substantive evidence thus supports the ALJ’s credibility determination, and the ALJ did not err in finding Turner’s subjective pain was not a severe impairment. 1 Similarly, the ALJ did not err in discrediting Turner’s testimony regarding side-effects from her medications because the record includes no evidence that Turner consistently complained to her doctors of any side-effects.

Turner further argues the ALJ should have found her learning disability a severe impairment because, according to rehabilitation consultant Dr. Gray, it rendered her “functionally illiterate” such that “any attempts at competitive employment will continue to be in vain.” The ALJ must state with particularity the weight it gives different medical opinions and the reasons for that weight. Sharfarz v. Bowen, 825 F.2d 278, 279 (11th Cir.1987). The ALJ “may reject any medical opinion if the evidence supports a contrary finding.” Id. at 280.

The ALJ was free to give little weight to Dr. Gray’s opinion. Social Security regulations define illiteracy as “the inability to read or write.” 20 C.F.R. § 404.1564(b)(1). Turner, however, tested at the sixth grade level for reading and arithmetic, and at the fourth grade level for spelling. Although her abilities are more limited than her high school diploma implies, Turner stated she was able to write, and that she could read the Bible and newspaper.

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182 F. App'x 946, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/turner-v-commissioner-of-social-security-ca11-2006.