Wilson ex rel. J.D. v. Colvin

48 F. Supp. 3d 1140, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 136979, 2014 WL 4803026
CourtDistrict Court, N.D. Illinois
DecidedSeptember 29, 2014
DocketCase No. 13 C 8458
StatusPublished
Cited by28 cases

This text of 48 F. Supp. 3d 1140 (Wilson ex rel. J.D. v. Colvin) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. Illinois primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Wilson ex rel. J.D. v. Colvin, 48 F. Supp. 3d 1140, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 136979, 2014 WL 4803026 (N.D. Ill. 2014).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

MILTON I. SHADUR, Senior District Judge.

Antonette Wilson (“Wilson”),1 on behalf of her daughter J.D., seeks judicial review pursuant to Social Security Act (“Act”) § 405(g)2 of the final decision of Commissioner of Social Security Carolyn Colvin (“Commissioner”) denying J.D.’s claim for supplemental security income (“SSI”) disability benefits. Both parties have moved for summary judgment under Fed.R.Civ.P. (“Rule”) 56, and Wilson has alternatively moved to remand for further proceedings. For the reasons stated here, both Rule 56 motions are denied, but Wilson’s alternative motion to remand is granted.

Standard of Review and Applicable Law

This Court reviews the ALJ’s decision as Commissioner’s final decision, reviewing the legal conclusions de novo and factual determinations with deference (Haynes v. Barnhart, 416 F.3d 621, 626 (7th Cir.2005)). Because factual determinations receive deferential review, courts may not “reweigh the evidence or substitute [their] own judgment for that of the ALJ” and will affirm Commissioner’s decision “if it is supported by substantial evidence” (id.). But as Haynes further explains, “the ALJ must build a logical bridge from the evidence to his conclusion” (id.). Hence “[i]f the Commissioner’s decision lacks adequate discussion of the issues, it will be remanded” (Villano v. As-true, 556 F.3d 558, 562 (7th Cir.2009)).

To be found disabled, a child must meet or equal (either medically or functionally) the elements of an impairment listed in Appendix (“App’x”) 1 to the Act’s implementing regulations (see Reg. § 416.924). Those regulations create a multistep analysis for determining disability:

[1143]*11431. Commissioner must find that the child was not performing substantial gainful activity (Reg. § 416.924(b)).
2. Commissioner must then determine that the child has a severe medically determinable impairment or combination of impairments (Reg. § 416.924(c)).
3. With a “yes” answer at step 2, the next step is to determine whether the impairment meets or equals an impairment listed in App’x 1 (Reg. § 416.924(d)).

If all three steps have produced “yes” answers, that spells disability. But if the answer at step 3 is “no,” Commissioner must then consider whether the child’s limitations are functionally equal in severity to any listed impairment (Reg. § 416.924(d)) by analyzing the child’s limitations in six domains of functioning: (1) acquiring and using information, (2) attending and completing tasks, (3) interacting and relating with others, (4) moving about and manipulating objects, (5) caring for oneself and (6) health and physical well-being (Reg. § 416.926a(b)(l)). Under that functional equivalence test, a child is disabled if she suffers from two “marked” limitations or one “extreme” limitation (Reg. § 416.926a(a)).

“Marked” limitations “interfere[] seriously” and “extreme” limitations “interfere[ ] very seriously” with the “ability to independently initiate, sustain, or complete activities” (Reg. §§ 416.926a(e)(2)(i), 926a(e)(3)(i)). More quantitatively, the regulations define those terms this way: Where standardized test results are available, performance “at least two” standard deviations below the mean implies a “marked” limitation, while performance “at least three standard deviations” below the mean implies an “extreme” limitation (id.). For children under age 3 such as J.D., if there are no standardized test scores available in the record, functioning at a level “not more than two-thirds” of her chronological age implies a “marked limitation,” while functioning at a level “one-half of [her] chronological age or less” implies an “extreme” limitation (Reg. §§ 416.926a(e)(2)(ii), a(e)(3)(ii)).

Procedural Background

On November 18, 2010 Wilson filed an application for SSI disability benefits on behalf of her daughter J.D. (R. 115-23). That application was denied both initially and on reconsideration (R. 58, 63). Wilson then requested and received a hearing (the “Hearing”), which took place before Administrative Law Judge (“ALJ”) Jose Ang-lada on March 26, 2012. Represented by counsel, Wilson testified during the hearing (R. 34-35). ALJ Anglada issued a decision denying SSI disability benefits on April 26, 2012 (R. 14). Although the ALJ concluded that J.D. did indeed have severe medical impairments — developmental delay, left metatarsus adductus and asthma' — those impairments were held neither to have met nor to have equaled (medically or functionally) a listed impairment, so that J.D. was held not to be disabled (R. 20). That decision became Commissioner’s once the Appeals Council denied Wilson’s request for review (R. 1). On December 13, 2013 Wilson filed a timely complaint for judicial review (Compl. 1, ECF No. 8).

Factual Background

Wilson gave birth to J.D. prematurely (at 32 weeks old3) on November 22, 2009, weighing just 3-1/2 pounds (R. 218). At the time of the hearing, J.D. was 2 years [1144]*1144and 4 months old (see R. 17, 20). Wilson’s application for SSI disability benefits cited four health problems: asthma, a left foot metatarsus adductus,4 acid reflux and developmental delay (R. 57). But the crux of Wilson’s appeal concerns J.D.’s developmental delay. Wilson argues that after the agency’s experts completed their review of the medical evidence in June 2011 (when J.D. was about 1-1/2 years old), new evidence came to light that indicated more severe developmental delays that the ALJ neither addressed in his opinion nor had reviewed by an expert (see W. Mem. 13-14).

Medical History

J.D.’s developmental issues first materialized as physical delays. At the age of 6 months, tests revealed a 42% delay in motor development, for which J.D. began receiving physical therapy through Early Intervention Services (R. 218-21, 225). By her second birthday, however, J.D. no longer needed physical therapy — her gross motor skills had improved enough that she “could run, jump ... and negotiate stairs [ ] like ... any other child her age” (R. 524).

While her gross motor skills improved, other issues became more pronounced. In late 2010, when about 1 year old, J.D. began occupational therapy for sensory integration problems, sensory disorder and a lack of coordination (R. 281). Her occupational therapists noted a “definite difference” in J.D.’s sensory processing abilities, placing her “in the deficient range,” at least two standard deviations away from average overall (or in the bottom 2-1/2% of children her age) (R. 283, 285). In 2011 J.D. also commenced speech and behavioral therapy (R. 494-95).

That February consulting psychologist Mark Langgut (“Langgut”) evaluated J.D. to determine SSI eligibility (R. 393). According to his evaluation5 J.D. scored in the third percentile for her language abilities and in the ninth for cognitive abilities (R. 395). Langgut noted that J.D. “did not respond to her name,” “had difficulty attending to tasks and required a great deal of focusing assistance from her mother” (id.).

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
48 F. Supp. 3d 1140, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 136979, 2014 WL 4803026, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/wilson-ex-rel-jd-v-colvin-ilnd-2014.