Justia U.S. 8th Circuit Court of Appeals Opinion Summaries

Articles Posted in Public Benefits
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Kevin Ross filed for disability insurance benefits due to deep vein thrombosis in the left hip, a cervical spine disc replacement, and a bulging disc in the lumbar spine. Ross contended that these ailments rendered him incapable of working in the national economy. However, the Social Security Administration denied Ross's claim, and the administrative law judge (ALJ) affirmed the denial. Ross sought judicial review, but the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas affirmed the ALJ's decision.Ross appealed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, arguing that the ALJ overlooked his inability to move his neck up and down and his back limitations. He also argued that the ALJ improperly discredited his testimony regarding the severity of his symptoms. The appellate court held that substantial evidence supported the ALJ's decision, noting that the medical record contained contradictory findings about Ross's neck movement and back limitations. The court also found that the ALJ properly discredited Ross's testimony since the evidence as a whole was inconsistent with Ross's claims. The court affirmed the district court's decision, holding that Ross was not disabled and could work as a document preparer and surveillance system monitor. View "Ross v. O'Malley" on Justia Law

Posted in: Public Benefits
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Plaintiff applied for and was denied disability benefits from the Social Security Administration (“SSA”). Plaintiff appealed the decision to the District of Minnesota, arguing in part that the Administrative Law Judge (“ALJ”) who oversaw the case lacked authority because SSA Acting Commissioner Nancy Berryhill was not properly serving as Acting Commissioner when she ratified the ALJ’s appointment. The district court agreed.   The Eighth Circuit reversed. The court found that Berryhill was properly serving as Acting Commissioner when she ratified the appointment. Plaintiff argued the district court’s decision can be affirmed because Berryhill was never directed to serve by the president. In essence, he argued the 2016 succession memo became null and void when administrations changed in 2017. The court concluded that this argument fails. The general rule is that presidential orders without specific time limitations carry over from administration to administration. Plaintiff provides no authority indicating succession orders are any different from other presidential orders. The text of the FVRA likewise does not change the default position that presidential orders, including succession memos under the FVRA, carry over from one administration to the next. View "Brian Dahle v. Kilolo Kijakazi" on Justia Law

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Plaintiff appealed the district court’s order upholding a decision by the Commissioner of the Social Security Administration denying her disability insurance benefits and supplemental security income. She argued that the Commissioner’s decision was not supported by substantial evidence. Plaintiff contends that the ALJ failed to sufficiently articulate his rationale for rejecting Plaintiff’s treating physician’s opinion, rendering the ALJ’s decision legally erroneous and unsupported by substantial evidence on the record as a whole.   The Eighth Circuit affirmed. The court held that ALJ was justified in finding the physician’s opinion unpersuasive. The opinion’s bare, formulaic conclusion presumptively warranted little evidentiary weight “because it was rendered on a check-box and fill-in-the-blank form.” The physician checked some boxes and left blank the short-answer section asking what objective medical findings supported his assessment. The ALJ also found the checkbox form “unsupported and highly inconsistent” with the record because the physician’s conservative treatment plan, other medical opinions, and Plaintiff’s own descriptions of her activities contradict the checkbox assessment. View "Vickie Nolen v. Kilolo Kijakazi" on Justia Law

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Plaintiff appealed the district court’s1 order upholding the Commissioner of the Social Security Administration’s (Commissioner) denial of Social Security disability insurance benefits, arguing that the Commissioner’s decision was not supported by substantial evidence. Plaintiff challenged two aspects of the Commissioner’s decision. First, Plaintiff argued that the ALJ committed legal error by improperly evaluating the medical evidence. Second, Plaintiff argued that the ALJ’s RFC assessment was unsupported by substantial evidence. 
 The Eighth Circuit affirmed. The court explained that the ALJ found that Plaintiff had the RFC to “perform light work . . . ; except, she should avoid extreme cold and wetness, avoid work in direct sunlight, and avoid loud noises.” Central to this finding was the ALJ’s conclusion that Plaintiff’s surgically implanted neurostimulator resulted in “on-going symptom control without a consistent description of debilitating pain or the inability to function.” A lack of evidence of treatment in the months prior to the hearing undermines Plaintiff’s claim of disabling headaches. The court ultimately concluded that the ALJ’s RFC assessment is within the “available zone of choice” provided by the whole record. View "Lisa Austin v. Kilolo Kijakazi" on Justia Law

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Plaintiff appealed from the district court’s judgment upholding the Social Security Commissioner’s denial of her application for social security disability insurance benefits. She argues that the administrative law judge (ALJ) believed that she lacked the ability to follow detailed instructions, but failed to include that limitation in the hypothetical question posed to the vocational expert or in the residual functional capacity finding. Plaintiff also contends that the ALJ failed to adequately explain why only partial weight was given to the opinions of her treating mental health providers.   The Eighth Circuit affirmed. The court considered the fact that the ALJ had found earlier in the decision that Plaintiff had only a moderate limitation in understanding, remembering, and applying information. The sentence could thus be read as finding the opinion “not necessarily pertinent,” because the ALJ was not giving controlling weight to the providers’ opinion and because Plaintiff’s moderate limitations were accounted for in the hypothetical question and the residual functional capacity determination.Further, the court found to be unpersuasive Plaintiff’s alternative argument that the ALJ failed to adequately explain why she gave only partial weight to the testimony of Plaintiff’s mental health providers- a licensed independent social worker and an advanced registered nurse practitioner. Under the regulations, neither mental health provider is considered an acceptable medical source whose opinion may be afforded controlling weight. Moreover, their opinion was “entitled to relatively little evidentiary value” because it was “rendered on a check-box and fill-in-the-blank form.” Thus, the court concluded that substantial evidence supported the ALJ’s denial of benefits. View "Melissa Galloway v. Kilolo Kijakazi" on Justia Law

Posted in: Public Benefits
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After voluntarily leaving his job due to back problems, Plaintiff applied for disability insurance benefits. The Social Security Administration found that he was not disabled and denied his application. Plaintiff sought judicial review and the district court1 affirmed. He appealed, arguing that the agency’s decision was not supported by substantial evidence.   The Eighth Circuit affirmed, explaining that when reviewing the denial of disability insurance benefits, the court decides whether the findings are supported by substantial evidence on the record as a whole. Here, Plaintiff claims that his treating physician’s opinion was entitled to deference. However, the court explained, that under the current regulations, however, treating physicians are not entitled to special deference. And although Plaintiff may disagree with the ALJ’s conclusion, it is supported by substantial evidence on the record as a whole. View "Jason Bowers v. Kilolo Kijakazi" on Justia Law

Posted in: Public Benefits
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The government alleges that Medicare overpaid Plaintiff and his medical practice approximately $5.31 million. While the third level of administrative review, a hearing before an Administrative Law Judge (“ALJ”), was pending, Medicare began to recover the overpaid funds by withholding new reimbursements. Plaintiff argued that recovery prior to an ALJ hearing and decision violates procedural due process. He moved for a preliminary injunction to prevent Medicare from recovering payments prior to the ALJ decision. The district court denied the preliminary injunction and Plaintiff appealed.   The Eighth Circuit affirmed the denial of the preliminary injunction finding that Plaintiff has not satisfied the requirements for a preliminary injunction. Further, he has not shown that he is likely to prevail on the merits of his procedural due process claim nor that he is likely to suffer irreparable harm. The court explained that if an audit shows that a provider has been overpaid, Medicare may seek to recover the overpaid funds. Moreover, if a Medicare contractor determines a provider has been overpaid, the provider may challenge that decision through administrative and judicial review.   Here, Plaintiff’s interest in avoiding erroneous recoupment outweighs the government’s interest in prompt repayment. However, there is no evidence in the record that any delay in recovery against Plaintiff will cause long-term harm to Medicare or prevent Medicare from providing services to other beneficiaries. Further, Plaintiff’s claims of irreparable harm are undercut by his apparent failure to try to ease the burdens of recoupment. View "Gurpreet Padda v. Xavier Becerra" on Justia Law

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Plaintiff appealed a judgment of the district court upholding an agency decision to deny her application for social security disability insurance benefits. Plaintiff argued that the administrative law judge (ALJ) who denied her claim erred by giving “little weight” to the opinion of one of her treating physicians.  The Eighth Circuit concluded that the ALJ permissibly weighed the evidence and affirmed the decision. The court held that the agency’s decision is supported by substantial evidence. On the record as a whole, the ALJ was justified in declining to give controlling weight to the conclusory opinion of Plaintiff’s treating physician.   The court reasoned that the doctor’s opinion was entitled to relatively little evidentiary value on its face because it was rendered on a check-box and fill-in-the-blank form. Further, the doctor’s opinion is also in tension with her own treatment notes. The treatment notes refer only to “evidence of elevated blood pressure levels and occasional skin abnormalities,” while observing “otherwise normal heart, lungs, and extremities.” Additionally, some of Plaintiff’s daily activities also undermined her doctor’s opinion of severe limitations. View "Deborah Swarthout v. Kilolo Kijakazi" on Justia Law

Posted in: Public Benefits
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The Eighth Circuit affirmed the district court's order upholding the Commissioner's denial of social security disability insurance benefits (DIB). The court concluded that substantial evidence supported the determination that plaintiff's impairments did not meet or medically equal Listing 11.09B or 12.02. In this case, plaintiff's mental impairment did not cause at least two marked limitations or one extreme limitation, as required by the paragraph B criteria for Listing 12.02. Furthermore, although plaintiff's medical records revealed several minor deficiencies, such as a subtle tremor in her left hand and mild executive dysfunction, those records did not indicate a marked limitation in physical functioning and one of the four areas of mental functioning as required by Listing 11.09B. View "Schmitt v. Kijakazi" on Justia Law

Posted in: Public Benefits
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The Eighth Circuit affirmed the denial of supplemental security income benefits to claimant, concluding that substantial evidence supported the ALJ's determination that claimant was capable of performing certain work available in the national economy. In this case, the ALJ provided good reasons for giving little weight to claimant's testimony regarding his limitations and to his treating physician's opinion on the subject. Furthermore, perhaps the most persuasive medical reason the ALJ offered in support of his finding as to claimant's residual functional capacity is the relatively conservative course of treatment that he undertook to deal with the pain. Finally, the ALJ did not accept the consulting physician's opinion in its entirety. View "Pierce v. Kijakazi" on Justia Law

Posted in: Public Benefits