Caseflicks

Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit • 2004

James L. Batson, Sr. v. Commissioner of the Social Security Administration

359 F.3d 1190 | 2004 U.S. App. LEXIS 4460

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Takeaway

In short, this case confirms that an ALJ may discount treating-source opinions and claimant testimony when supported by specific, record-based reasons, and that an isolated unsupported rationale is harmless when the remaining evidence independently sustains the disability decision.

Background

James Batson suffered from cervical degenerative disease and underwent cervical surgery in September 1997. Although he initially believed the surgery had succeeded, his pain and symptoms later returned. After his employment ended in October 1998, Batson applied for disability insurance benefits, alleging that upper- and lower-back injuries prevented him from working.

The Social Security Administration denied his application initially and on reconsideration. Following a hearing, an administrative law judge found that Batson was not disabled, concluding that he did not meet the spinal-disorder listing and retained the residual functional capacity for light work. The Appeals Council declined review, making the ALJ's decision the Commissioner's final decision. A magistrate judge in the District of Oregon affirmed. Batson appealed to the Ninth Circuit.

Issues

Issue #1

Whether substantial evidence supported the ALJ's decision to give minimal weight to the opinions of Batson's treating physicians that he met or equaled the spinal-disorder listing.

Holding

Yes. The ALJ gave specific and legitimate reasons, supported by substantial evidence, for discounting the treating physicians' opinions.

Reasoning

A treating physician's opinion ordinarily receives substantial weight, but it does not bind the ALJ on the existence of an impairment or the ultimate issue of disability. When medical opinions conflict, the ALJ must resolve the conflict and may reject a treating physician's contradicted opinion by providing specific and legitimate reasons supported by substantial evidence.

The ALJ permissibly found Dr. Keenen's and Dr. Kadwell's opinions conclusory and inadequately supported. Their opinions were presented in checklist-like forms, relied substantially on Batson's subjective reports of pain, and lacked objective findings sufficient to establish the severe limitations they asserted. Dr. Kadwell's assessment also relied in part on Dr. Keenen's records, whose evidentiary value the ALJ had independently discounted.

The treating physicians' conclusions also conflicted with consulting physician Dr. Bergquist's examination. Dr. Bergquist concluded that surgery had eliminated Batson's disc herniation, that the claimed symptoms lacked a physical explanation, and that objective findings did not prevent Batson from working. The ALJ could reasonably resolve this medical conflict in favor of Dr. Bergquist's assessment. ამიტომ, the ALJ did not err in refusing to treat the treating physicians' listing opinions as controlling.

Issue #2

Whether the ALJ improperly discredited Batson's testimony concerning the severity of his pain and other symptoms.

Holding

No. Apart from a harmless error concerning television viewing, substantial evidence supported the ALJ's adverse credibility finding.

Reasoning

Batson satisfied the first step for evaluating subjective symptoms because he offered objective evidence of cervical degenerative disease, an impairment capable of producing pain. Because there was no finding of malingering, the ALJ was required to give clear and convincing reasons for rejecting Batson's testimony about the severity of his symptoms.

The ALJ relied on evidence that undermined Batson's account. Dr. Bergquist found that Batson's expansive symptoms could not be explained physically, observed examination inconsistencies in Batson's claimed cervical range of motion, and inferred from the condition of Batson's hands that his activity level exceeded his description. Another examining physician, Dr. Johnson, likewise questioned Batson's credibility, and Batson delayed seeking treatment for an injury he said occurred in October 1996 until May 1997.

The ALJ also identified internal inconsistencies between Batson's claimed inability to work and his reported daily activities, including tending animals, walking outside, getting coffee, and visiting neighbors. Together with the medical evidence, those contradictions constituted substantial evidence for the credibility determination.

The ALJ erred to the extent he assumed that Batson necessarily sat while watching television for six to ten hours daily. The record did not establish whether Batson watched while sitting, standing, reclining, or changing positions. But the error was harmless because the ALJ had several other valid, well-supported reasons for finding Batson's symptom testimony not fully credible, and the unsupported television inference did not affect the ultimate conclusion.

Issue #3

Whether substantial evidence supported the ALJ's finding that Batson retained the residual functional capacity to perform light work.

Holding

Yes. The ALJ's light-work finding rested on evidence the ALJ was entitled to credit.

Reasoning

Batson's contrary evidence did not compel a different residual-functional-capacity finding. The ALJ had permissibly discounted the opinions of Drs. Keenen and Kadwell, as well as Batson's own testimony. A vocational expert's opinion that relies on evidence the ALJ properly rejected does not undermine an otherwise supported administrative finding.

The ALJ relied on physical therapist Claudia Richardson's functional evaluation. That evaluation indicated that Batson could occasionally lift about 26 pounds, frequently lift about 13 pounds, and complete an eight-hour day if allowed to change positions. The ALJ's related findings—that Batson could walk roughly four blocks at a time, stand or sit for one hour at a time, occasionally lift 10 to 20 pounds, and drive for 15 minutes—were consistent with that evaluation.

Because the record could rationally support the ALJ's interpretation that Batson could perform light work, the court was required to defer to that interpretation even though other evidence, including the vocational expert's testimony, pointed in a different direction.

Dissents

Judge Graber

Reasoning

Judge Graber would have reversed and remanded because two central reasons the ALJ gave were unsupported by the record. First, the ALJ inferred that Batson could sit for at least six hours in a workday because he reported watching television or listening to the radio for six to ten hours each day. But Batson never said he watched television while sitting; he could have watched while lying down, reclining, standing, or freely changing positions. Passive television viewing at home, moreover, says little about a person's ability to sustain work activity.

Judge Graber also concluded that the ALJ improperly discounted Dr. Keenen's opinion by treating it as a checklist based solely on subjective complaints. Dr. Keenen had treated Batson for more than two years, was a board-certified orthopedic surgeon with spinal-surgery training, performed Batson's surgery, reviewed MRI evidence, and documented cervical spondylosis, restricted spinal motion, weakness, sensory loss, and continuing neck and upper-extremity pain. His opinion therefore had to be evaluated in light of the full treating relationship, not an isolated form response.

In Judge Graber's view, the ALJ's statement that a treating physician's view was merely “acceptable” evidence misstated the governing standard. A well-supported treating opinion that is not inconsistent with substantial evidence should receive controlling weight, and even a contradicted treating opinion may be rejected only for specific and legitimate reasons supported by substantial evidence. Since the ALJ's stated rationales did not satisfy that standard, and because the invalid television inference may have affected the result, Judge Graber would require reconsideration on remand.