United States District Court, M.D. Alabama, Southern Division
MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER
Susan
Russ Walker United States Magistrate Judge.
I.
INTRODUCTION
On May
11, 2015, Plaintiff Twila Christine Milam filed an
application for Supplemental Security Income
(“SSI”) under Title XVI of the Social Security
Act, alleging that she became disabled on March 24, 2015. The
application was denied at the initial administrative level.
Plaintiff then requested and received a hearing before an
Administrative Law Judge (“ALJ”). Following the
hearing, the ALJ issued an unfavorable decision dated October
12, 2017. Plaintiff appealed that decision and the Appeals
Council denied Plaintiff's request for review on June 11,
2018. The ALJ's decision consequently became the final
decision of the Commissioner of Social Security. See
Chester v. Bowen, 792 F.2d 129, 131 (11th Cir. 1986).
The case is now before the court for review of that decision
pursuant to 42 U.S.C. §§ 405(g) and 1383(c)(3).
Under 28 U.S.C. § 636(c) and Rule 73 of the Federal
Rules of Civil Procedure, the parties have consented to the
conduct of all proceedings and entry of a final judgment by
the undersigned United States Magistrate Judge. See
Docs. 12, 13. Based on its review of the parties'
submissions, the relevant law, and the record as a whole, the
court will affirm the Commissioner's decision.
II.
STANDARD OF REVIEW AND REGULATORY
FRAMEWORK[2]
The
court's review of the Commissioner's decision is a
limited one. This court must find the Commissioner's
decision conclusive if it is supported by substantial
evidence. 42 U.S.C. § 405(g); Graham v. Apfel,
129 F.3d 1420, 1422 (11th Cir. 1997). “Substantial
evidence is more than a scintilla, ” but less than a
preponderance, “and is such relevant evidence as a
reasonable person would accept as adequate to support a
conclusion.” Crawford v. Comm'r of Soc.
Sec., 363 F.3d 1155, 1158 (11th Cir. 2004) (“Even
if the evidence preponderates against the Commissioner's
findings, [a reviewing court] must affirm if the decision
reached is supported by substantial evidence”)
(citations omitted). The court will reverse the
Commissioner's decision if it is convinced that the
decision was not supported by substantial evidence or that
the proper legal standards were not applied. Carnes v.
Sullivan, 936 F.2d 1215, 1218 (11th Cir. 1991). However,
reversal is not warranted even if the court itself would have
reached a result contrary to that of the factfinder. See
Edwards v. Sullivan, 937 F.2d 580, 584 n.3 (11th Cir.
1991). A reviewing court may not look only to those parts of
the record which support the decision of the ALJ, but instead
must view the record in its entirety and take account of
evidence which detracts from the evidence relied on by the
ALJ. Hillsman v. Bowen, 804 F.2d 1179, 1180 (11th
Cir. 1986).
[The court must]…scrutinize the record in its entirety
to determine the reasonableness of the
[Commissioner's]…factual findings. … No.
similar presumption of validity attaches to the
[Commissioner's]…legal conclusions, including
determination of the proper standards to be applied in
evaluating claims.
Walker v. Bowen, 826 F.2d 996, 999 (11th Cir. 1987).
To
qualify for disability benefits and establish his or her
entitlement for a period of disability, a person must be
unable to
engage in 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
12 months.
42 U.S.C. § 423(d)(1)(A).[3] To make this determination, the
Commissioner employs a five-step, sequential evaluation
process. See 20 C.F.R. § 416.920.
(1) Is the person presently unemployed?
(2) Is the person's impairment severe?
(3) Does the person's impairment meet or equal one of the
specific impairments set forth in 20 C.F.R. Pt. 404, Subpt.
P, App. 1 [the Listing of Impairments]?
(4) Is the person unable to perform his or her former
occupation?
(5) Is the person unable to perform any other work within the
economy? An affirmative answer to any of the above questions
leads either to the next question, or, on steps three and
five, to a finding of disability. A negative answer to any
question, other than step ...