Hauck v. Commissioner of Social Security

Filing 17

ORDER granting 13 Plaintiff's Motion for Summary Judgment; denying 15 Defendant's Motion for Summary Judgment, and Remanding for Further Administrative Proceedings. Case CLOSED. Signed by Judge Salvador Mendoza, Jr. (SK, Case Administrator)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
EASTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON

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RHONDA L. HAUCK,

No. 4:16-CV-05085-SMJ

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Plaintiff,
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v.
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COMMISSIONER OF SOCIAL
SECURITY,
Defendant.

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ORDER GRANTING PLAINTIFF’S
SUMMARY JUDGMENT
MOTION, DENYING
DEFENDANT’S SUMMARY
JUDGMENT MOTION, AND
REMANDING FOR FURTHER
ADMINISTRATIVE
PROCEEDINGS

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Before the Court, without oral argument, are cross-summary-judgment
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motions. ECF Nos. 13 & 15. Plaintiff Rhonda L. Hauck appeals the
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Administrative Law Judge’s (ALJ) denial of benefits. ECF No. 13. Hauck
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contends the ALJ erred in (1) omitting severe impairments from step two of the
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inquiry, (2) improperly rejecting Hauck’s testimony as not credible, and (3)
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improperly weighing medical evidence and witness testimony. ECF No. 13 at 5–
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20. The Commissioner of Social Security (“Commissioner”) asks the Court to
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affirm the ALJ’s decision. ECF No. 15 at 2.
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After reviewing the record and relevant authority, the Court is fully
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informed. For the reasons set forth below, the Court grants Plaintiff’s motion,

ORDER - 1

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denies the Commissioner’s motion, and remands for further administrative

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proceedings.
I.

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STATEMENT OF FACTS1

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Rhonda L. Hauck was born on February 24, 1953. Tr. 242. She was 58

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years old at the date of alleged disability onset on May 1, 2011. Tr. 19, 242. Since

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the alleged onset date, Plaintiff alleges she has been unable to sustain employment

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on a regular and continuing basis due to a combination of impairments, including:

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fibromyalgia, osteoarthritis, chronic back pain, COPD, sleep apnea, restless leg

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syndrome, piriformis syndrome, and depression. Tr. 275; ECF No. 13 at 6–11.
II.

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PROCEDURAL HISTORY

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Hauck applied for Social Security Disability benefits on June 21, 2011,

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alleging an onset date of May 1, 2011. Tr. 242. The application was denied

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initially and on reconsideration, and Hauck requested a hearing, which was held

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before Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) Ruperta M. Alexis on November 14,

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2012. Tr. 36, 117–26. The ALJ upheld the denial of Hauck’s application for

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benefits, concluding Hauck could perform past relevant work as an accounts

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payable clerk. Tr. 125–26.

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The facts are only briefly summarized. Detailed facts are contained in the

administrative hearing transcript, the ALJ’s decision, and the parties’ briefs.

ORDER - 2

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Hauck appealed the ALJ’s decision to the Appeals Council, which vacated

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the ALJ’s ruling. Tr. 132–33. The Appeals Council remanded the case back to the

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ALJ for further proceedings because the ALJ’s finding that Hauck had moderate

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functional limitations in concentration, persistence, or pace did not support the

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ALJ’s conclusion that Hauck could understand and perform detailed and complex

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tasks and instructions. Tr. 132.

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Upon remand, the ALJ once again found Hauck not disabled. Tr. 20. Hauck

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appealed the ALJ’s second denial, but the Appeals Council determined there was

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no reason to review the decision, making the ALJ’s decision the Commissioner’s

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final decision on the matter. Tr. 1. Hauck then filed the current action in this Court

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requesting review of the ALJ’s decision. ECF No. 1.
III.

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DISABILITY DETERMINATION

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A “disability” is defined as the “inability to engage in any substantial

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gainful activity by reason of any medically determinable physical or mental

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impairment which can be expected to result in death or which has lasted or can be

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expected to last for a continuous period of not less than twelve months.” 42

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U.S.C. §§ 423(d)(1)(A), 1382c(a)(3)(A). The decision-maker uses a five-step

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sequential evaluation process to determine whether a claimant is disabled. 20

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C.F.R. §§ 404.1520, 416.920.

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ORDER - 3

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Step one assesses whether the claimant is engaged in substantial gainful

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activities. If she is, benefits are denied. 20 C.F.R. §§ 404.1520(b), 416.920(b). If

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she is not, the decision-maker proceeds to step two.

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Step two assesses whether the claimant has a medically severe impairment

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or combination of impairments. 20 C.F.R. §§ 404.1520(c), 416.920(c). If the

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claimant does not, the disability claim is denied. If the claimant does, the

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evaluation proceeds to the third step.

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Step three compares the claimant’s impairment with a number of listed

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impairments acknowledged by the Commissioner to be so severe as to preclude

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substantial gainful activity. 20 C.F.R. §§ 404.1520(d), 404 Subpt. P App. 1,

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416.920(d). If the impairment meets or equals one of the listed impairments, the

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claimant is conclusively presumed to be disabled. If the impairment does not, the

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evaluation proceeds to the fourth step.

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Step four assesses whether the impairment prevents the claimant from

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performing work she has performed in the past by examining the claimant’s

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residual functional capacity. 20 C.F.R. §§ 404.1520(e), 416.920(e). If the

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claimant is able to perform his previous work, she is not disabled. If the claimant

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cannot perform this work, the evaluation proceeds to the fifth step.

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Step five, the final step, assesses whether the claimant can perform other

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work in the national economy in view of her age, education, and work

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experience. 20 C.F.R. §§ 404.1520(f), 416.920(f); see Bowen v. Yuckert, 482 U.S.

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137 (1987). If the claimant can, the disability claim is denied. If the claimant

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cannot, the disability claim is granted.

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The burden of proof shifts during this sequential disability analysis. The

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claimant has the initial burden of establishing a prima facie case of entitlement to

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disability benefits. Rhinehart v. Finch, 438 F.2d 920, 921 (9th Cir. 1971). The

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burden then shifts to the Commissioner to show 1) the claimant can perform other

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substantial gainful activity, and 2) that a “significant number of jobs exist in the

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national economy,” which the claimant can perform. Kail v. Heckler, 722 F.2d

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1496, 1498 (9th Cir. 1984). A claimant is disabled only if her impairments are of

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such severity that he is not only unable to do his previous work but cannot,

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considering his age, education, and work experiences, engage in any other

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substantial gainful work which exists in the national economy. 42 U.S.C. §§

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423(d)(2)(A), 1382c(a)(3)(B).
IV.

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STANDARD OF REVIEW

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The Court must uphold an ALJ’s determination that a claimant is not

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disabled if the ALJ applied the proper legal standards and there is substantial

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evidence in the record as a whole to support the decision. Molina v. Astrue, 674

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F.3d 1104, 1110 (9th Cir. 2012) (citing Stone v. Heckler, 761 F.2d 530, 531 (9th

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Cir.1985)). “Substantial evidence ‘means such relevant evidence as a reasonable

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mind might accept as adequate to support a conclusion.’” Id. at 1110 (quoting

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Valentine v. Comm’r Soc. Sec. Admin., 574 F.3d 685, 690 (9th Cir. 2009)). This

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must be more than a mere scintilla, but may be less than a preponderance. Id. at

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1110–11 (citation omitted).

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Even where the evidence supports more than one rational interpretation, the

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Court must uphold an ALJ’s decision if it is supported by inferences reasonably

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drawn from the record. Id.; Allen v. Heckler, 749 F.2d 577, 579 (9th Cir. 1984).
V.

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A.

ANALYSIS

The ALJ erred at Step 2.

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The ALJ concluded that several of the medically determinable impairments

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were not severe at Step 2 of the Disability Determination process, including

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depression, trochanteric bursitis, and chronic airway obstruction. Tr. 22. Hauck

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alleges that finding these impairments not severe was harmful error because there

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is substantial evidence to support finding these impairments severe. ECF No. 13 at

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6–11. Hauck also argues that the ALJ committed reversible error because: (1) the

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ALJ’s 2014 decision concluded that Hauck’s depression was no longer a moderate

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limitation, as the ALJ had found in 2012, but rather a mild limitation, ECF No. 13

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at 6–9; and (2) the ALJ did not discuss Hauck’s piriformis syndrome, sleep apnea,

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or restless leg syndrome at all in the written decision. ECF No. 13 at 9–11.

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ORDER - 6

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In opposition, the Commissioner argues that Hauck offers her own view of

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the evidence related to her depression, ECF No. 15 at 3–5, and that the ALJ’s

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failure to identify Hauck’s diagnosis of piriformis syndrome, sleep apnea, and

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restless leg syndrome is harmless error because she later explained why the

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symptoms related to these conditions were not disabling and she could work, ECF

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No. 15 at 5–6.

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A severe impairment is, “any impairment or combination of impairments

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which significantly limits your physical or mental ability to do basic work

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activities.” 20 CFR § 404.1520(c). It is uncontested that Hauck was diagnosed

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with piriformis syndrome, sleep apnea, and restless leg syndrome diagnoses.

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Indeed, the record reflects it. See, e.g., Tr. 497, 500, 506. An ALJ errs at Step 2 of

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the analysis when he or she disregards a claimant’s diagnosis, fails to provide

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“specific and legitimate reasons” for rejecting a treating doctor’s conclusions, and

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therefore does not consider whether a diagnosis constitutes a severe impairment.

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Black v. Astrue, 472 Fed. App’x 491, 492–93 (9th Cir. 2012) (citing Lester v.

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Chater, 81 F. 3d 821, 830–31 (9th Cir. 1995)). Such error can be rendered

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harmless when an ALJ subsequently extensively discusses a claimant’s diagnosis

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and considers any limitations posed by said diagnosis at Step 4 of the analysis.

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Lewis v. Astrue, 498 F. 3d 909, 911 (9th Cir. 2007) (finding that ALJ committed

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ORDER - 7

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harmless error by failing to consider a bursitis diagnosis at Step 2 when the ALJ

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extensively considered the diagnosis’s limitations at Step 4).

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Here, nowhere in the ALJ’s written decision does she recognize that Hauck

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was diagnosed with these three conditions. The Court is persuaded by the Black

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court’s reasoning that substantial evidence does not support an ALJ’s conclusion

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that a diagnosis “is not a severe impairment in the absence of any mention of the

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disorder.” Black, 472 Fed. App’x at 493. Though the ALJ’s written decision does

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discuss some of the symptoms associated with piriformis syndrome, for example,

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her discussion falls short of providing “specific and legitimate” reasons for

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rejecting the treating doctor’s conclusions related to the three conditions noted

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above. This Court, therefore, cannot determine whether the “ALJ’s omission was

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inconsequential to the ultimate nondisability determination.” Black, 472 Fed.

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App’x at 493 (citation and quotation marks omitted).

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Accordingly, the Court finds that the ALJ committed reversible error.
VI.

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CONCLUSION

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Because the ALJ erred at Step 2, the Court remands for further

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administrative proceedings with instructions to consider all of the evidence. The

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Court does not reach Hauck’s other claims regarding the ALJ’s alleged errors.

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Accordingly, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED:

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ORDER - 8

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GRANTED.

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2.

The Commissioner’s Motion for Summary Judgment, ECF No. 15, is
DENIED.

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Plaintiff’s Motion for Summary Judgment, ECF No. 13, is

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The case is REMANDED to the Commissioner of Social Security

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pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 405(g) for further proceedings consistent

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with this order.

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JUDGMENT is to be entered in Plaintiff’s favor.

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The case shall be CLOSED.

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IT IS SO ORDERED. The Clerk’s Office is directed to enter this Order
and provide copies to all counsel.
DATED this 8th day of August 2017.

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__________________________
SALVADOR MENDOZA, JR.
United States District Judge

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ORDER - 9