United States District Court, N.D. Alabama, Western Division
MEMORANDUM OPINION [1]
JOHN
H. ENGLAND, III, UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE.
Plaintiff Cassandra O'Bryant (“O'Bryant”)
seeks review, pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 405(g), §
205(g) of the Social Security Act, of a final decision of the
Commissioner of the Social Security Administration
(“Commissioner”), denying her application for a
period of disability and disability insurance benefits
(“DIB”). (Doc. 1). O'Bryant timely pursued
and exhausted her administrative remedies. This case is
therefore ripe for review under 42 U.S.C. §§
405(g), 1383(c)(3). The undersigned has carefully considered
the record and, for the reasons stated below, the
Commissioner's decision is AFFIRMED.
I.
Factual and Procedural History
O'Bryant
filed her application for a period of disability and DIB on
December 10, 2013, alleging she became unable to work
beginning on August 1, 2010. (Tr. 116-17). The Agency
initially denied O'Bryant's application, and
O'Bryant requested a hearing where she appeared on July
24, 2015. (Tr. 29-50). After the hearing, the Administrative
Law Judge (“ALJ”) denied O'Bryant's claim
on August 27, 2015. (Tr. 16-28). O'Bryant sought review
by the Appeals Council, but it declined her request on
November 14, 2016. (Tr. 1-6). On that date, the ALJ's
decision became the final decision of the Commissioner. On
January 13, 2017, O'Bryant initiated this action.
(See doc. 1).
O'Bryant
was a fifty-seven-year-old female at the time of the
ALJ's decision. (Tr. 116). O'Bryant has a high school
education and past relevant work as a lunchroom worker and
safety inspector. (Tr. 48, 142).
II.
Standard of Review[2]
The
court's review of the Commissioner's decision is
narrowly circumscribed. The function of this Court is to
determine whether the decision of the Commissioner is
supported by substantial evidence and whether proper legal
standards were applied. Richardson v. Perales, 402
U.S. 389, 390 (1971); Wilson v. Barnhart, 284 F.3d
1219, 1221 (11th Cir. 2002). This Court must
“scrutinize the record as a whole to determine if the
decision reached is reasonable and supported by substantial
evidence.” Bloodsworth v. Heckler, 703 F.2d
1233, 1239 (11th Cir. 1983). Substantial evidence is
“such relevant evidence as a reasonable person would
accept as adequate to support a conclusion.”
Id. It is “more than a scintilla, but less
than a preponderance.” Id.
This
Court must uphold factual findings supported by substantial
evidence. “Substantial evidence may even exist contrary
to the findings of the ALJ, and [the reviewing court] may
have taken a different view of it as a factfinder. Yet, if
there is substantially supportive evidence, the findings
cannot be overturned.” Barron v. Sullivan, 924
F.2d 227, 230 (11th Cir. 1991). However, the Court reviews
the ALJ's legal conclusions de novo because no
presumption of validity attaches to the ALJ's
determination of the proper legal standards to be applied.
Davis v. Shalala, 985 F.2d 528, 531 (11th Cir.
1993). If the court finds an error in the ALJ's
application of the law, or if the ALJ fails to provide the
court with sufficient reasoning for determining the proper
legal analysis has been conducted, it must reverse the
ALJ's decision. Cornelius v. Sullivan, 936 F.2d
1143, 1145-46 (11th Cir. 1991).
III.
Statutory and Regulatory Framework
To
qualify for disability benefits and establish his or her
entitlement for a period of disability, a claimant must be
disabled as defined by the Social Security Act and the
Regulations promulgated thereunder.[3] The Regulations define
“disabled” as “the inability to do any
substantial gainful activity by reason of any medically
determinable physical or mental impairment which can be
expected to result in death or which has lasted or can be
expected to last for a continuous period of not less than
twelve (12) months.” 20 C.F.R. § 404.1505(a). To
establish entitlement to disability benefits, a claimant must
provide evidence of a “physical or mental
impairment” which “must result from anatomical,
physiological, or psychological abnormalities which can be
shown by medically acceptable clinical and laboratory
diagnostic techniques.” 20 C.F.R. § 404.1508.
The
Regulations provide a five-step process for determining
whether a claimant is disabled. 20 C.F.R. §
404.1520(a)(4)(i-v). The Commissioner must determine in
sequence:
(1) whether the claimant is currently employed;
(2) whether the claimant has a severe impairment;
(3) whether the claimant's impairment meets or equals an
impairment listed by ...