Starr v. Comm'r of the Soc. Sec. Admin.

581 F.Supp.3d 525

Daniel STARR, Plaintiff,

v.COMMISSIONER OF the SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION, Defendant.

20 Civ. 4484 (GWG)

United States District Court, S.D. New York.

Signed January 26, 2022

Josephine Gottesman, Dennis Kenny Law, Newburgh, NY, for Plaintiff.

Amanda Frances Parsels, Office of the United States Attorney, New York, NY, for Defendant.

OPINION & ORDER

GABRIEL W. GORENSTEIN, UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE

Plaintiff Daniel Starr brings this action pursuant to 42 U.S.C. §§ 405(g) and 1383(c) to obtain judicial review of the final decision of the Commissioner of Social Security (the "Commissioner") denying his claim for Disability Insurance Benefits under the Social Security Act ("the Act"). Both parties have moved for judgment on the pleadings pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(c).¹ For the reasons set forth below, Starr's motion is granted, and the Commissioner's cross-motion is denied.

I. BACKGROUND

A. Procedural History

On June 1, 2017, Starr filed an application for disability insurance benefits, alleging disability beginning on June 2, 2016. SSA Administrative Record, filed January 15, 2021 (Docket # 16), at 18 ("R."). Starr's application was denied on September 8, 2017, see R. 18, 93-103, after which Starr requested a hearing before an administrative law judge ("ALJ"), see R. 105. A video hearing was held on March 5, 2019. See R. 18, 51-81. In a written decision dated April 11, 2019, the ALJ found that Starr was not disabled and denied Starr's claim. See R. 18-27. Starr requested a review by the Appeals Council, which was denied on April 14, 2020. See R. 1-4. On June 11, 2020, Starr filed this action seeking review of the ALJ's decision. See Complaint, filed June 11, 2020 (Docket # 1).

B. The Hearing Before the ALJ

The hearing was held in White Plains, New York. See R. 53. Starr and his counsel appeared remotely from Goshen, New York. See R. 18, 53. Vocational Expert ("VE") Sugi Y. Komarov also testified at the hearing. See R. 18, 76-80.

Starr testified that he was forty-seven years old at the time of the hearing, was not working, and had not worked since June 2016 due to back, hip, leg, and foot pain. See R. 57, 60, 65-67. He had a worker's compensation claim that settled in July 2018. See R. 58-59. Starr lives in a two-story house in Walden, New York with his girlfriend, as well as her son and grandson. See R. 55. Starr attended school through the ninth grade but was in special education and never read past a fourth-grade level. See R. 60. Before June 2016, Starr had worked as a construction laborer, flagger, and heavy equipment operator for a cable company. See R. 60, 74-76.

In June 2016, Starr sought treatment for lower back pain after he fell at work. See R. 62. Starr received injections to treat his back pain but could not undergo surgery because of his diabetes, see R. 64, which Starr treats by restricting his sugar intake, regularly checking his blood sugar, and taking insulin, see R. 64-65. Starr took opioids "for a long time" prior to and after the injury, eventually developing an opioid dependency, which he began treating with suboxone in 2018. See R. 65.

Starr also received non-surgical treatment in June 2016 for a puncture wound on his right foot which developed into a diabetic ulcer. See R. 62-63; see also R. 256, 280. Starr wore a Controlled Ankle Movement boot intermittently but eventually underwent surgery in January 2017. See R. 61-63, 69-70. Although his foot healed following the surgery, Starr reinjured it in September 2018 when he walked a substantial distance after his car broke down, which caused a blister on his right foot that developed into another ulcer. See R. 61; see also R. 892.² Starr testified that at the time of the hearing he was taking antibiotics through a peripherally inserted central catheter ("PICC") line to treat a bone infection that subsequently arose in his foot, and that the antibiotic infusions take three to four hours each morning. See R. 62, 65-66. Starr testified that his foot and leg may require amputation. See R. 62. Starr also testified that he was advised to keep his leg elevated "over top of [his] chest." Id.

Starr takes gabapentin for his pain, which according to Starr, has not been eliminated. See R. 71-72. Starr testified that the pain prevents him from walking too far or sitting for too long. See R. 62, 67-68, 70-71, 74. When he does walk, Starr always uses a cane. See R. 70. Starr also takes Lyrica to improve the blood circulation in his foot. See R. 71-72.

Following Starr's testimony, the ALJ questioned the VE. See R. 76. Specifically, the ALJ inquired about the employability of an individual with Starr's vocational profile who was limited to sedentary work in that he could only occasionally use stairs, balance, stoop, kneel, crouch, and crawl, could not use ladders, and required a cane when ambulating. R. 77. The VE testified that such a person could not perform Starr's past relevant work but could perform the occupations of food and beverage order clerk, semiconductor bonder, and surveillance system monitor. See id. All of these jobs could be performed by someone who needed to elevate his foot on a one-foot high footstool. See R. 77-78. Only the job of surveillance system monitor would be precluded if the person were unable to walk or stand at all. See R. 78-79. The individual would be unemployable, however, if he needed to elevate his foot at least waist high, or if he were absent more than four days per month. See R. 78.

C. The Medical Evidence

Both Starr and the Commissioner have provided detailed summaries of the medical evidence. See Pl. Mem. at 6-14; Def. Mem. at 4-15. The Court had directed the parties to specify any objections they had to the opposing party's summary of the record, see Scheduling Order, filed Jan. 19, 2021 (Docket # 17) ¶ 5, and neither party has done so. Accordingly, we adopt the parties’ summaries of the medical evidence as accurate and complete for purpose of the issues raised in this suit. We discuss the medical evidence pertinent to the adjudication of this case in Section III below.

D. The ALJ's Decision

The ALJ denied Starr's application on April 11, 2019. See R. 27. In doing so, the ALJ concluded Starr has not been under a disability within the meaning of the Social Security Act from June 2, 2016, through April 11, 2019, the date of the decision. Id.

Following the five-step test set forth in the Social Security Administration ("SSA") regulations, the ALJ found that Starr met the insured status requirements through December 31, 2021, and "has not engaged in substantial gainful activity since June 2, 2016, the alleged onset date." R. 20. At step two, the ALJ found Starr "has the following severe impairments: obesity ; peripheral artery disease; diabetes mellitus ; diabetic foot ulcers ; diabetic neuropathy ; distant history of right ankle fracture with open reduction internal fixation and degenerative joint disease by x-ray; and degenerative disc disease of the lumbar spine." Id.

At step three, the ALJ found Starr "d[id] not have an impairment or combination of impairments that m[et] or medically equal[ed] the severity of one of the listed impairments in 20 [C.F.R.] Part 404, Subpart P, Appendix 1" during the relevant period. R. 21. The ALJ specifically considered listings 1.02 ("Major dysfunction of a joint(s) (due to any cause)") and 1.04 ("Disorders of the spine"). R. 22; see also 20 C.F.R., Part 404, Subpart P, Appendix 1.

Before moving to step four, the ALJ assessed Starr's residual functional capacity ("RFC") for the relevant period. R. 22. The ALJ determined that Starr's testimony "concerning the intensity, persistence[,] and limiting effects of [his] symptoms [were] not entirely consistent with the medical evidence and other evidence in the record." R. 23. The ALJ concluded that Starr had the RFC to perform "a range of sedentary exertion in that he is able to lift/carry five pounds frequently and 10 pounds occasionally; walk/stand up to two hours a day and sit up to six hours a day. He can occasionally climb stairs, balance, stoop, kneel, crouch[,] and crawl. He can never climb ladders, ropes, or scaffolds. He requires the use of a cane when ambulating and must elevate his foot as needed." R. 25. Although the RFC "made some allowance for right leg elevation," the ALJ concluded that "extreme elevation" was not required. Id. Specifically, the ALJ determined that Starr "must be able to elevate his foot with the use of a footstool as needed." R. 22. Moreover, the ALJ emphasized that "there is no evidence" that Starr's PICC infusion treatment, which "takes most of the day," "will last for a continuous period of 12 month[s] or more." Id. As to Starr's obesity, the ALJ considered Starr's weight but ultimately concluded that "the record does not document any significant problems secondary to obesity that would reduce" Starr's RFC further. R. 23-24. The ALJ's decision evaluated the opinions and medical records of Dr. Kantha Kumar, Dr. Lawrence Schulman, Dr. Edgard Quinones, Starr's treating podiatrist Dr. Shane Baker, the state agency medical consultant, as well as the various opinions rendered in connection with Starr's worker's compensation claim. See R. 22-25.

At step four, the ALJ concluded that Starr was "unable to perform any past relevant work," during the relevant time period. R. 26. Finally, at step five, considering Starr's "age, education, work experience, and residual functional capacity" for sedentary work, the ALJ found "there [were] jobs that existed in significant numbers in the national economy that [Starr] c[ould have] perform[ed]." R. 26. Accordingly, the ALJ determined that "[a] finding of ‘not disabled’ [was] appropriate." R. 27.

II. GOVERNING STANDARDS OF LAW

A. Scope of Judicial Review Under 42 U.S.C. § 405(g)

A court reviewing a final decision by the Commissioner "is limited to determining whether the [Commissioner's] conclusions were supported by substantial evidence in the record and...