Vigil v. Colvin ( 2015 )

FILED
United States Court of Appeals
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS Tenth Circuit
FOR THE TENTH CIRCUIT November 16, 2015
Elisabeth A. Shumaker
Clerk of Court
KENNETH G. VIGIL,
Plaintiff - Appellant,
v. No. 14-1478
(D.C. No. 1:13-CV-01896-CBS)
CAROLYN W. COLVIN, Acting (D. Colo.)
Commissioner of Social Security,
Defendant - Appellee.
ORDER
Before TYMKOVICH, Chief Judge, HOLMES and McHUGH, Circuit Judges.
The appellee has filed a motion to publish the order and judgment previously
issued on September 28, 2015. The motion is granted. The published opinion is filed
nunc pro tunc to that date and a copy is attached.
Entered for the Court
ELISABETH A. SHUMAKER, Clerk
FILED
United States Court of Appeals
PUBLISH Tenth Circuit
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS September 28, 2015
Elisabeth A. Shumaker
FOR THE TENTH CIRCUIT Clerk of Court
_________________________________
KENNETH G. VIGIL,
Plaintiff - Appellant,
v. No. 14-1478
CAROLYN W. COLVIN, Acting
Commissioner of Social Security,
Defendant - Appellee.
_________________________________
Appeal from the United States District Court
for the District of Colorado
(D.C. No. 1:13-CV-01896-CBS)
_________________________________
Submitted on the briefs:*
Michael W. Seckar, Law Office of Michael W. Seckar, Pueblo, Colorado, for
Plaintiff-Appellant.
John F. Walsh, United States Attorney, Denver, Colorado, Douglas A. Fletcher, Special
Assistant U.S. Attorney, and John Jay Lee, Of Counsel, Regional Chief Counsel, Social
Security Administration, Office of the General Counsel, Denver, Colorado, for
Defendant-Appellee.
_________________________________
Before TYMKOVICH, Chief Judge, HOLMES and McHUGH, Circuit Judges.
_________________________________
*
After examining the briefs and appellate record, this panel has determined
unanimously to honor the parties’ request for a decision on the briefs without oral
argument. See Fed. R. App. P. 34(f); 10th Cir. R. 34.1(G). The case is therefore
submitted without oral argument.
McHUGH, Circuit Judge.
_________________________________
Kenneth G. Vigil appeals from the denial of his application for disability
insurance and supplemental security income benefits. Exercising jurisdiction under
28 U.S.C. § 1291 and 42 U.S.C. § 405(g), we affirm.
I.
Vigil filed for benefits alleging disability due to a bad left knee and ankle,
anxiety, depression, and pain in his left heel and back. He requested and received a
hearing before an administrative law judge (“ALJ”) at which he was represented by
counsel. Vigil and a vocational expert (“VE”) testified.
The ALJ found that Vigil has severe impairments of degenerative changes of
the lumbar spine, status post-left knee anterior cruciate ligament (“ACL”) repair,
obesity, major depressive disorder, and generalized anxiety disorder.1 He then
determined that Vigil could not perform his past relevant work as a fiberglass maker,
spot welder, auto detailer, hog farmer, concrete laborer, or brick maker. The ALJ
found that Vigil has the residual functional capacity (“RFC”) to perform light work
as defined in 20 C.F.R. § 404.1567(b), except that he can only occasionally bend,
squat, and kneel; is unable to climb ropes, ladders, or scaffolds; can occasionally
operate foot or leg controls; is unable to perform complex tasks, such that he is
1
We will not recite all of the medical evidence here. The parties are familiar
with the evidence and the relevant medical evidence is described accurately and
thoroughly in the magistrate judge’s 24-page opinion and order. See Aplt. App.
at 90-113.
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limited to jobs with a specific vocational preparation (“SVP”) of one or two;2 and he
cannot deal with the general public. After considering the VE’s testimony, the ALJ
determined Vigil could perform other work that existed in substantial numbers in the
national economy. Accordingly, the ALJ denied benefits at step five of the five-step
sequence for determining disability. See Wall v. Astrue, 561 F.3d 1048, 1052
(10th Cir. 2009) (summarizing steps). The Appeals Council denied review, and the
district court affirmed.
II.
“We review the Commissioner’s decision to determine whether the factual
findings are supported by substantial evidence and whether the correct legal
standards were applied.” Mays v. Colvin, 739 F.3d 569, 571 (10th Cir. 2014)
(internal quotation marks omitted). “In reviewing the ALJ’s decision, we neither
reweigh the evidence nor substitute our judgment for that of the agency.” Newbold v.
Colvin, 718 F.3d 1257, 1262 (10th Cir. 2013) (internal quotation marks omitted).
Vigil asserts two arguments on appeal: (1) the ALJ did not have a valid reason for
rejecting the standing and walking restrictions described by his consultative
physician, Dr. Summerlin, and (2) the ALJ improperly accounted for his memory and
concentration deficits by limiting the skill level of work.
2
SVP refers to the “time required by a typical worker to learn the techniques,
acquire the information, and develop the facility needed for average performance in a
specific job-worker situation.” Dictionary of Occupational Titles, App. C, Sec. II
(4th ed., revised 1991), 1991 WL 688702 (G.P.O.). A job at SVP one requires “a
short demonstration only” and at SVP two requires “[a]nything beyond a short
demonstration up to and including 1 month.” Id.; see also SSR 00-4p, 2000 WL
1898704, at *3 (“unskilled work corresponds to an SVP of 1-2”).
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A.
Vigil first argues that the ALJ erred in evaluating the medical source opinion
evidence from consultative examiner Dr. Summerlin when he determined Vigil’s
RFC. An ALJ must “give consideration to all the medical opinions in the record
[and] discuss the weight he assigns to such opinions.” Keyes-Zachary v. Astrue,
695 F.3d 1156, 1161 (10th Cir. 2012) (citations omitted). When assessing a medical
opinion, the ALJ must consider the factors listed in 20 C.F.R. § 404.1527(c) and give
good reasons for the weight he assigns to the opinion. See Watkins v. Barnhart,
350 F.3d 1297, 1301 (10th Cir. 2003); 20 C.F.R. § 404.1527(c)(2).
Vigil hurt his knee loading hay in 2006, but an x-ray showed intact osseous
alignment, and there was no evidence of a fracture, cortical destruction, or joint
effusion. Admin. R. at 213. A 2006 examination showed full range of motion in the
left knee with no laxity or edema, and the only restriction on his ability to stand and
walk in an eight-hour day was a requirement to take a five minute rest each hour.
Vigil complained of back pain in 2006, but nerve studies of his low back and left leg
were normal, and showed there was no evidence of lumber radiculopathy. Id. at 227.
Vigil had surgery in May 2007 for an ACL tear in his left knee. All of the 2007
post-surgical examinations indicate that Vigil had some reduced range of motion in
his knee but was improving at each visit. There are no medical records for Vigil after
2007, until he was seen by Dr. Summerlin in 2010.3
3
The ALJ noted that Vigil was incarcerated between 2007 and 2010, during
which time Vigil did not receive any treatment.
4
Vigil saw Dr. Summerlin only once, in August 2010, shortly after he filed for
benefits. Dr. Summerlin opined that “[t]he number of hours [Vigil] could be
expected to stand and/or walk in an eight hour workday would be up to four hours,
due to left knee osteoarthritis and lumbar radiculopathy.” Id. at 326.
The ALJ gave Dr. Summerlin’s opinion moderate weight. He specifically
determined that Dr. Summerlin’s opinion that Vigil could only stand and walk for
four hours was not consistent with Dr. Summerlin’s exam findings:
Consultative examiner Adam Summerlin, M.D. opined that the claimant
was able to stand and/or walk for 4 out of 8 hours; lift 20 pounds
occasionally and 20 pounds frequently; and was limited in the ability to
stoop, crouch, kneel, and crawl. The undersigned gives this opinion
moderate weight. The opinion was rendered after a thorough
examination of the claimant and is somewhat consistent with the exam
findings. However, the opinion is not clearly explained. While the
limitations on carrying, lifting, and postural activities is basically
consistent with the exam findings and the record as a whole, the
limitations on standing and walking are not. Dr. Summerlin found
normal range of motion of the knee, normal gait, and normal strength
and tone. Dr. Summerlin does not reconcile the apparent discrepancy
between these essentially normal findings and his opinion, and this
detracts from the persuasiveness of his opinion.
Admin. R. at 18.
The ALJ’s finding that Dr. Summerlin’s restrictions on standing and walking
were inconsistent with his own examination findings is a good reason for giving that
medical opinion only moderate weight. See 20 C.F.R. § 404.1527(c)(3) (stating that
“[t]he more a medical source presents relevant evidence to support an opinion,
particularly medical signs and laboratory findings, the more weight [the ALJ] will
give that opinion [and t]he better an explanation a source provides for an opinion, the
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more weight [the ALJ] will give that opinion”). Further, the ALJ’s assessment of
Dr. Summerlin’s opinion and examination results is supported by the record.
Dr. Summerlin described Vigil as having a limp on the left leg but no need for any
assistive device. His x-ray examination of Vigil’s left knee showed only mild
osteoarthritis, and his range of motion testing showed that Vigil had full, normal,
active range of motion in his left knee and his spine. Admin. R. at 325.
Dr. Summerlin also reported that Vigil had negative straight leg raises, intact deep
tendon reflexes, and full muscle strength throughout. Id. at 326. These normal
examination results do not indicate any inability to stand or walk for more than
four hours in an eight-hour workday. As the ALJ noted, Dr. Summerlin did not give
any explanation for the inconsistency between his stand/walk restriction and the
actual examination results of his testing. The ALJ also recounted all of the other
medical evidence in the record that indicated Vigil had a normal range of motion in
his knee and spine, a normal walking gait, normal strength, and a fairly intact ability
to walk and stand. The record supports the ALJ’s evaluation of this evidence. The
ALJ did not substitute his judgment for that of Dr. Summerlin or ignore
Dr. Summerlin’s findings. Rather, the ALJ considered all of Dr. Summerlin’s
medical evidence, as well as the record as a whole, and gave good reasons for the
weight he afforded Dr. Summerlin’s opinions. We see no error.
B.
Vigil next contends the ALJ failed to adequately account for his memory and
concentration deficits in determining his RFC. The ALJ found at step three that Vigil
6
has moderate difficulties in concentration, persistence, and pace in social functioning.
The ALJ took these difficulties into account in formulating Vigil’s RFC by limiting
the skill level of his work to work with an SVP one or two. Vigil contends the ALJ
should have included in his RFC his specific concentration, persistence and pace
limitations, rather than account for those limitations by restricting his RFC to
unskilled (SVP one or two) work. Again, we find no error.
At steps two and three of the sequential analysis, the ALJ determines whether
the claimant has a severe impairment (step 2) and whether the impairment meets or
equals an impairment listed in 20 C.F.R. Pt. 404, Subpt. P, App. 1 (step 3). Here, the
ALJ found at step three of the sequential process of evaluation that Vigil had only a
moderate—not marked—limitation of concentration, persistence and pace. See id.,Listing 12.01, paragraph B (the “paragraph B criteria”). The social security ruling on
assessing a claimant’s RFC cautions that “[t]he adjudicator must remember that the
limitations identified in the ‘paragraph B’ . . . criteria are not an RFC assessment but
are used to rate the severity of mental impairment(s) at steps 2 and 3 of the sequential
evaluation process.” SSR 96-8p, 1996 WL 374184, at *4 (July 2, 1996). The ALJ’s
finding of a moderate limitation in concentration, persistence, or pace at step three
does not necessarily translate to a work-related functional limitation for the purposes
of the RFC assessment.
At the “more detailed” step four assessment of Vigil’s RFC, id., the ALJ found
some evidence indicating that Vigil had some problems with concentration,
persistence, and pace “such that [he] could not be expected to perform complex
7
tasks.” Admin. R. at 17 (citing findings of impaired delayed recall, inability to spell
in reverse, or recall the President’s name). But, the ALJ further found that “the
findings of a normal ability to recall items on immediate recall, and an ability to spell
words forward, as well as finding of normal thought processes, indicate[d] that Vigil
retain[ed] enough memory and concentration to perform at least simple tasks.” Id.Thus, the ALJ accounted for Vigil’s moderate concentration, persistence, and
pace problems in his RFC assessment by limiting him to unskilled work. There may
be cases in which an ALJ’s limitation to “unskilled” work does not adequately
address a claimant’s mental limitations. See Chapo v. Astrue, 682 F.3d 1285, 1290
n.3 (10th Cir. 2012) (recognizing that restrictions to unskilled jobs do not in all
instances account for the effects of mental impairments). But in this case, we
conclude that limiting the plaintiff to an SVP of only one or two, adequately took
into account his moderate limitations in concentration, persistence, and pace. See
Social Security Administration Program Operations Manual System § DI 25020.010,
§ B(3) (available at https://secure.ssa.gov/poms.nsf/lnx/0425020010 (last visited
September 18, 2015) (noting that the capacity to perform unskilled work includes
ability to maintain attention for extended periods of two-hour segments but that
concentration is “not critical”). Unskilled work generally requires only the
following: (1) “[u]nderstanding, remembering, and carrying out simple instructions”;
(2) “[m]aking judgments that are commensurate with the functions of unskilled
work—i.e., simple work-related decisions”; (3) “[r]esponding appropriately to
supervision, co-workers and usual work situations”; and (4) “[d]ealing with changes
8
in a routine work setting.” SSR 96-9p, 1996 WL 374185, at *9 (July 2, 1996). The
evidence in the record regarding Vigil’s mental status supports the ALJ’s RFC
determination that limiting Vigil to perform unskilled work would adequately
account for his moderate limitations in concentration, persistence, and pace.
The judgment of the district court is affirmed.
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