Kimberly Benson v. Andrew Saul, No. 18-3619 (8th Cir. 2019)
Annotate this CaseCourt Description: Per Curiam - Before Gruender, Stras and Kobes, Circuit Judges] Civil case - Social Security. Substantial evidence in the record as a whole supports the decision to deny disability benefits and the denial is affirmed without comment. [ September 23, 2019
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United States Court of Appeals For the Eighth Circuit ___________________________ No. 18-3619 ___________________________ Kimberly A. Benson lllllllllllllllllllllPlaintiff - Appellant v. Andrew Saul,1 Commissioner of Social Security Administration lllllllllllllllllllllDefendant - Appellee ____________ Appeal from United States District Court for the Western District of Arkansas - El Dorado ____________ Submitted: September 20, 2019 Filed: September 25, 2019 [Unpublished] ____________ Before GRUENDER, STRAS, and KOBES, Circuit Judges. ____________ PER CURIAM. 1 Andrew Saul has been appointed to serve as Commissioner of Social Security, and is substituted as appellee pursuant to Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure 43(c). Kimberly Benson appeals the district court’s2 order affirming the denial of disability insurance benefits and supplemental security income. After careful consideration of Benson’s arguments for reversal, we agree with the court that substantial evidence in the record as a whole supports the adverse decision. See Nash v. Comm’r, Soc. Sec. Admin., 907 F.3d 1086, 1089 (8th Cir. 2018) (de novo review of district court’s judgment; affirmance is warranted if Commissioner’s decision is supported by substantial evidence in record as whole). Specifically, substantial evidence supported the administrative law judge’s (ALJ’s) findings that Benson’s impairments did not meet any listings, see Blackburn v. Colvin, 761 F.3d 853, 859 (8th Cir. 2014) (upholding ALJ’s finding that listing 12.04 was not met where there was no evidence that claimant had episodes of decompensation of requisite length and frequency); the ALJ’s credibility determination, see Nash, 907 F.3d at 1090 (this court defers to ALJ’s credibility determination as long as it is supported by good reasons and substantial evidence); and the ALJ’s evaluation of the medical opinions, see Lawson v. Colvin, 807 F.3d 962, 966 (8th Cir. 2015) (ALJ did not err in giving less weight to physician’s low Global Assessment of Functioning score, which was inconsistent with overall evidence and not supported by claimant’s functioning). We also find that the post-hearing evidence Benson submitted does not undermine the ALJ’s decision. See Stephens v. Shalala, 50 F.3d 538, 541 (8th Cir. 1995) (treating physician’s opinion submitted to Appeals Council that did not cite any objective evidence to support its conclusions and contradicted examination finding did not detract from substantial evidence supporting ALJ findings). The judgment is affirmed. See 8th Cir. R. 47B. ______________________________ 2 The Honorable Barry A. Bryant, United States Magistrate Judge for the Western District of Arkansas, to whom the case was referred for final disposition by consent of the parties pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 636(c). -2-
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