Vice v. Commissioner of Social Security Administration
Filing
15
OPINION on Summary Judgment. (Signed by Judge Lynn N Hughes) Parties notified. (ghassan, 4)
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF TEXAS
United States District Court
Southern District of Texas
Rodney Keith Vice,
Plaintiff,
1Jcrsus
Commissioner of Social Security
Administration,
Defendant.
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ENTERED
August 16, 2018
David J. Bradley, Clerk
Civil Action G'I6'2.71
Opinion on Summary Judgment
I.
Introduction.
The question is whether substantial evidence supports the commission-
er's decision that Rodney Keith Vice is not disabled under the Social Security
Act. It does.
Vice brought this action for judicial review of the commissioner's final
decision denying his claims for disability insurance benefits. 42 U.s.c. §§
405 (g), 423. Vice moved for reversal and remand. The commissioner - Nancy
A. Berryhill- moved for summary judgment.
2.
Standard of Re1Jiew.
Vice brought this action for judicial review of the commissioner's final
decision to deny his disability insurance benefits. See 42 U.s.c. §§ 20S(g),
405 (g) (200 5).
Judicial review is limited to determining whether substantial evidence in
the record supports the commissioner's decision. This is a level of proof that a
disinterested, reasonable mind would accept as adequate to support a conclusion.
Richardson 'V. Perales, 402 U.S. 389,401 (1971). A decision unsupported by
substantial evidence must be overturned. It would be arbitrary, failing the
requirement that governmental process be regular. u.S. Const. amend. V.
First, Vice has not been gainfully employed. Second, Vice's post-traumatic
stress disorder, anxiety, depression, obesity, and knee pain were severely
impairing him. They imposed moderate limitations on his daily activities. Third,
none of Vice' s impairments met one listed. Fourth, the administrative law judge
correctly determined that Vice would be unable to perform his past work. Fifth,
the administrative law judge correctly considered the combined effects of his
impairments and concluded that Vice could adjust to another type of work.
To determine whether Vice was disabled, the administrative law judge
considered all of the evidence from
2013
to
2015.
He accepted some of the
opinions of Vice' s doctors and credited Vice's testimony to a reasonable extent.
He rejected Vice's doctors' conclusions when they were at odds with the medical
data. Vice complains of nightmares, sadness, and irritability. He says that his
right knee hurts. Yet the conclusion that he cannot work at all is
disproportionate to these symptoms. Vice's mental status reports are nearly
normal, and no primary evidence supports his physical impairments. He lives by
himself on twenty acres of land and cares for livestock and a pet dog. He
sometimes travels to Galveston. He attends church weekly, has a girlfriend, and
enjoys barbequing with his friends.
Vice asked the appeals council to review the decision. He included
additional medical records from Katherine Herring, M.D., from April and May of
2015
and a form from Stephen Incavo, M.D., from May
IS, 2015.
The appeals
council considered these records but concluded that they had no bearing on
whether he was disabled by February
25, 2015.
Vice says that Herring's records include past data, because he had been
going to her practice group for ten years. Even if the records were about the
relevant period, they would not support a conclusion that Vice is disabled.
Herring treated Vice for hypertension, high lipids, and thyroid problems. She
mentions other diagnoses for which she did not treat him and draws the
conclusion that he is disabled. That is a determination for the commissioner.
The evidence from Incavo is a one-page instruction sheet for inpatient
surgery that was scheduled for June
14, 2015.
Nothing in the records from
Incavo or Herring contradicts the administrative law judge's decision.
5.
Conclusion.
The commissioner's decision denying Vice's claim for disability insurance
is supported by substantial evidence and will be affirmed. Vice's motion to
remand will be denied. Rodney Keith Vice will take nothing from Nancy A.
Berryhill.
Signed on August 16,2018, at Houston, Texas.
Lynn N. Hughes
United States District]udge
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