BURNELL D. KELLY, PLAINTIFF-APPELLANT,
v.
MARGARET M. HECKLER, SECRETARY OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, DEFENDANT-APPELLEE
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The court held that the administrative law judge's findings were inconsistent and that the grids were applied mechanistically, requiring remand.
A claimant sought disability benefits due to various physical and mental ailments. The administrative law judge found she could not perform her past w…
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PER CURIAM:
In this appeal we review the denial of disability insurance benefits to a 54 year-old woman who suffers from arthralgias, low back syndrome, high blood pressure, varicose veins, and nervousness. The district court determined that the Secretary’s decision was supported by substantial evidence and affirmed.
The AU found that claimant could not return to her prior work as a sewing machine operator or restaurant cook but could perform a wide range of light work. The two findings appear inconsistent, and we cannot determine from the AU’s report why he reached these two conclusions. We therefore vacate and remand for further consideration of this issue.
The AU expressly found that claimant’s testimony as to pain was not credible. 2 Rec. at 24. Credibility determinations are for the Secretary, not the courts. Bloodsworth v. Heckler, 703 F. 2d 1233, 1242 (11th Cir.1983). Reviewing the record as a whole, including the testimony at the hearing and the medical evidence, we find that substantial evidence supports the AU’s finding of non-credibility. See Fortenberry v. Harris, 612 F. 2d 947, 950 (5th Cir.1980).
In Broz v. Schweiker, 677 F. 2d 1351 (11th Cir.1982), vacated and remanded sub nom. Heckler v. Broz, — U.S. —, 103 S.Ct. 2421, 77 L.Ed.2d 1311, adhered to, 711 F. 2d 957, modified, 721 F. 2d 1297 (11th Cir.1983), we held the grids invalid to the extent they treated the age/ability to adapt factor as a legislative rather than adjudicative fact. Broz I, 677 F. 2d at 1360. We explained in Reeves v. Heckler, 734 F. 2d 519 (11th Cir.1984), how the Secretary could use the age grids in establishing claimant’s ability to adapt. The determination we described in Reeves has not been made in this case. The record indicates that the ALJ applied the grids mechanistically. On remand to the Secretary, Kelly must be given the opportunity to offer evidence on her inability to adapt.1 In the absence of such evidence the ALJ’s use of the age grids would be dispositive of the issue.
VACATED and REMANDED.
. We have already determined that this case must be remanded to the Secretary on grounds other than the Secretary’s application of the grids. Consequently, there is no need for the claimant to make a proffer of evidence to the district court on her ability to adapt. Rather, on remand to the Secretary, the Secretary must reconsider the case in light of Broz and Reeves if the ALJ applies the grids to Kelly.
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Carnes v. Sullivan, 936 F.2d 1215 (11th Cir. 1991)…level of pain must be shown. Nor does the Listing require the pain to clearly result only and demonstrably from arthritis rather than from obesity. The credibility of witnesses is for the Secretary to determine, not the courts. Kelly v. Heckler, 736 F. 2d 631, 632 (11th Cir.1984). The decision of the Secretary here, however, rests not so much on the credibility of the “history of pain” presented by Carnes, as on the adoption of a legal standard improper under Listing 10.10(A). The record in this case i…
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Spinelli v. Comm'r of Soc. Sec. (M.D. Fla. 2021)…intiff would have the same residual functional capacity throughout the alleged disability period is not supported by substantial evidence. Accordingly, it is appropriate to remand the matter for further consideration. See Kelly v. Heckler, 736 F. 2d 631, 632 (11th Cir. 1984) (remanding a case when two findings appear inconsistent and they cannot be reconciled from the law judge’s decision); Hendley v. Astrue, No. 5:10-cv-398 CAR, :2012 WL 1019165, at *1 (M.D. Ga.) (“because the ALJ’s findi…
Authorities Cited
- Bloodsworth v. Heckler, 703 F.2d 1233 (11th Cir. 1983)
- Dirven D. Reeves v. Heckler, 734 F.2d 519 (11th Cir. 1984)
- Broz v. Schweiker, 677 F.2d 1351 (11th Cir. 1982)
- Broz v. Heckler, 711 F.2d 957 (11th Cir. 1983)
- Broz v. Heckler, 721 F.2d 1297 (11th Cir. 1983)
- Fortenberry v. Harris, 612 F.2d 947 (5th Cir. 1980)