Rosa M. Suarez Sanchez v. Michael J. Astrue, No. 5:2012cv00532 - Document 19 (C.D. Cal. 2013)

Court Description: MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER by Magistrate Judge Jay C. Gandhi, IT IS ORDERED THAT judgment shall be entered AFFIRMING the decision of the Commissioner denying benefits. (SEE ORDER FOR FURTHER DETAILS) (lmh)

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1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 11 ROSA M. SUAREZ SANCHEZ, 12 Plaintiff, 13 14 v. 15 CAROLYN W. COLVIN, ACTING COMMISSIONER OF SOCIAL 1/ SECURITY ADMINISTRATION, 16 Defendant. 17 ) Case No. CV 12-0532 JCG ) ) ) ) MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ) ORDER ) ) ) ) ) ) ) 18 Rosa M. Suarez Sanchez ( Plaintiff ) challenges the Social Security 19 20 Commissioner s ( Defendant ) decision denying her application for disability 21 benefits. Specifically, Plaintiff contends that the ALJ improperly rejected her 22 credibility. (See Joint Stip. at 4-13, 16.) The Court disagrees. An ALJ can reject a claimant s subjective complaints by expressing clear and 23 24 convincing reasons for doing so. Benton v. Barnhart, 331 F.3d 1030, 1040 (9th Cir. 25 2003). General findings are insufficient; rather, the ALJ must identify what 26 testimony is not credible and what evidence undermines the claimant s complaints. 27 28 1/ Carolyn W. Colvin is substituted as the proper defendant herein. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 25(d). 1 Lester v. Chater, 81 F.3d 821, 834 (9th Cir. 1995). Here, the ALJ presented two reasons2/ in support of his credibility 2 3 determination. First, the ALJ observed that, though Plaintiff certainly had hypertension and 4 5 asthma, the results from her cardiovascular stress test indicated that those conditions 6 were not as severe as she alleged them to be. (AR at 40-41); see Rollins v. 7 Massanari, 261 F.3d 853, 857 (9th Cir. 2001) (inconsistencies with objective 8 evidence, when combined with other factors, is a valid reason for rejecting a 9 claimant s testimony). Specifically, the test results revealed that Plaintiff had a 10 fair exercise capacity, and terminated the test only due to fatigue, not shortness of 11 breath. (AR at 940.) Similarly, the ALJ noted that Plaintiff s complaints of a gradually worsening 12 13 polyarthralgias joint pain that first affected her hands, wrists, and shoulders, but 14 then expanded to her neck and knees are inconsistent with the medical record, 15 which suggested milder symptoms. (AR at 40; see AR at 324.) An x-ray of 16 Plaintiff s right hand, for instance, demonstrated no abnormalities. (AR at 311.) 17 Likewise, an examination noted that her knees were normal, except for an 18 incidental finding of a bipartite left patella. (AR at 763.) A spinal MRI revealed 19 only mild degenerative changes. (AR at 313.) Indeed, Plaintiff s physical 20 examinations indicated, at most, only mild to moderate joint tenderness throughout 21 her body. (AR at 325, 517-19, 982-83.) Given such inconsistencies, the ALJ 22 committed no error here. Second, the ALJ observed that Plaintiff s allegedly disabling foot pain 23 24 25 2/ Both Plaintiff and Defendant discuss various reasons for the ALJ s credibility determination that are not actually stated by the ALJ. (See Joint Stip. at 4-16.) The 27 Court limits its discussion here, as it must, to only those reasons asserted by the ALJ 28 in his decision. See Connett v. Barnhart, 340 F.3d 871, 874 (9th Cir. 2003). 26 2 1 appeared to be resolved with minimal treatment.3/ (AR at 39); see Fair v. Bowen, 2 885 F.2d 597, 604 (9th Cir. 1989) (ALJ properly considered discrepancies between 3 claimant s allegations of pain, and the nature and extent of treatment obtained). In 4 November 2006, an x-ray of Plaintiff s feet exhibited a un-united fracture. (AR at 5 40; see AR at 310.) After initial treatment with a cast, Plaintiff underwent surgery in 6 March 2008, and subsequently complained of only occasional mild discomfort. 7 (AR at 327.) By September 2008, the condition appeared to be resolved, as Dr. 8 Scott Forman, Plaintiff s treating orthopedic surgeon, found no objective factors of 9 impairment in her left lower extremity. (AR at 616.) In light of such compelling 10 evidence of recovery, the ALJ thus properly rejected the severity of pain alleged by 11 Plaintiff. 12 Accordingly, the Court finds that substantial evidence supported the ALJ s 13 decision that Plaintiff was not disabled. See Mayes v. Massanari, 276 F.3d 453, 14 458-59 (9th Cir. 2001). 15 Based on the foregoing, IT IS ORDERED THAT judgment shall be entered 16 AFFIRMING the decision of the Commissioner denying benefits. 17 18 Dated: March 28, 2013 19 ____________________________________ 20 Hon. Jay C. Gandhi United States Magistrate Judge 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 3/ The ALJ also cited evidence from Dr. Grant Williams regarding Plaintiff s participation in an outpatient pain management program, where she made significant improvement in both physical and emotional areas. (AR at 40.) This reason does not appear to be tied to any specific complaints by Plaintiff, and thus fails to demonstrate any inconsistencies that may discredit her. See Lester v. Chater, 81 F.3d at 834. Regardless, considering the adequacy of the other reasons provided by the ALJ, this error is harmless. Batson v. Comm r of Soc. Sec. Admin., 359 F.3d 1190, 1195 (9th Cir. 2004). 3

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