Thomas v. Comm'r of Soc. Sec. Admin.

ALISSA S. THOMAS, Plaintiff, v. COMMISSIONER OF SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION,sued as Carolyn W. Colvin, Acting Commissioner of SSA, Defendant.

CAUSE NO. 1:14-cv-00354-SLC

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT NORTHERN DISTRICT OF INDIANA FORT WAYNE DIVISION

March 30, 2016

OPINION AND ORDER

Plaintiff Alissa S. Thomas appeals to the district court from a final decision of the Commissioner of Social Security ("Commissioner") denying her application under the Social Security Act (the "Act") for a period of disability and Disability Insurance Benefits ("DIB") and Supplemental Security Income ("SSI").¹ (DE 1). For the following reasons, the Commissioner's decision will be REVERSED, and the case will be REMANDED to the Commissioner for further proceedings in accordance with this Opinion and Order.

I. PROCEDURAL HISTORY

Thomas applied for DIB and SSI in August 2011, alleging disability as of December 31, 2007. (DE 11 Administrative Record ("AR") 156-57, 163-70). The Commissioner denied Thomas's application initially and upon reconsideration. (AR 95-102, 106-11). After a timely request, a hearing was held on June 28, 2013, before Administrative Law Judge Maryann Bright ("the ALJ"), at which Thomas, who was represented by counsel, and vocational expert CharlesMcbee (the "VE") testified. (AR 43-83). On August 9, 2013, the ALJ rendered an unfavorable decision to Thomas, concluding that she was not disabled because, despite the limitations caused by her impairments, she could perform her past relevant work as a picker/store laborer, as well as a significant number of other unskilled, medium exertional jobs in the economy. (AR 96-105). The Appeals Council denied Thomas's request for review, at which point the ALJ's decision became the final decision of the Commissioner. See 20 C.F.R. §§ 404.981, 416.1481.

Thomas filed a complaint with this Court on November 13, 2014, seeking relief from the Commissioner's final decision. (DE 1). Thomas argues that the ALJ: (1) improperly discounted the credibility of her symptom testimony; and (2) improperly evaluated the medical source statements. (DE 19 at 9-16).

II. FACTUAL BACKGROUND²

At the time of the ALJ's decision, Thomas was 33 years old (AR 84); had a high school education and had recently completed two semesters at Ivy Tech Community College ("Ivy Tech") (AR 51-52, 202); and possessed past work experience as a cook, a head cook, and a picker/store laborer (AR 77, 251). She alleges disability due to sleep apnea, obesity, hypothyroidism, panic disorder with agoraphobia, and major depressive disorder. (DE 19 at 2). Because Thomas does not dispute the ALJ's findings concerning her physical impairments (DE 19 at 2 n.1), the Court will focus on the evidence pertaining to her mental impairments.

A. Thomas's Testimony at the Hearing

At the hearing, Thomas testified that she lives with her five-year-old son in an apartment; she had recently separated from her second husband. (AR 48). She has four other children withher first husband, but they have lived with their father for the past year (AR 48-49); she sees these children every weekend (AR 69). When necessary, she drives a car to go to doctor appointments, to see her children, and sometimes to school; she had driven herself to the hearing and came alone. (AR 49-50). She said that sometimes she drives her son to preschool, but she usually relies on her husband or a friend to take him; she goes to her children's school activities only if someone picks her up. (AR 59-60). She attends gatherings of friends and family only once in a while, as they usually come to her home; she considers her mother's home a "safe place" and "feel[s] okay there." (AR 59-60, 66-67). Typically, her husband or a friend will go with her to the store. (AR 68). She sees her sister up to four times a week, and her sister helps her cope with her problems. (AR 74-75). She relies on food stamps and Medicaid. (AR 49).

When asked what prevents her from working, Thomas stated that she has agoraphobia and does not like to leave home. (AR 51, 58). She elaborated that she does not like to be in unfamiliar places and wanted to "run out of this room at the moment" (AR 15; see AR 66); she described this as feeling "real jittery," like she wants to "cry" and "flip out," and like she is "going to pass out." (AR 66, 75-76). She stated, for example, that when she goes to Walmart she feels like she is going to pass out and has to leave. (AR 69-70). When she has these feelings, she naps for an hour, after which she often feels a little better. (AR 66, 72). She also complained of having problems with concentration, stating that she used to love to read, but now "can't even sit down and read a book any more." (AR 67). She additionally claimed to have memory problems, such as forgetting what items she needs at the grocery store once there; difficulty sleeping; and that she sometimes needs instructions repeated. (AR 67-68, 72). Thomas said that sirens cause her to have panic attacks because she remembers being injured ina past serious car accident. (AR 71). She stated that she has three "bad days" a week where she just rests for 12 hours a day. (AR 72-73). Thomas has participated in some counseling for her symptoms, but she did not find it very helpful and was not doing so at the time of the hearing. (AR 63).

Thomas testified that she had worked full time at McDonald's and as a cook at a nursing home after her alleged onset date, but that each job lasted no more than three months. (AR 52-54). She stated that the cook position ended because the facility did not need her anymore and she had difficulty being away from home. (AR 52-54). Her favorite past job was as a head cook at a nursing home in 2005, which she held for three years, but it ended after she went on pregnancy leave, as she "started having a lot of [her] agoraphobia symptoms at the end of that job." (AR 55-56, 208).

Thomas stated that she had recently completed two semesters in early childhood education at Ivy Tech, taking two or three classes at a time and attending school three days a week; she received "B" grades even though she missed approximately 15 class sessions. (AR 50-52, 66). Sometimes she could not leave home to go to class, and other times she went to class but then had to leave; her teachers were understanding about her absences and let her do some work at home. (AR 51, 72). She stated that a friend or her husband usually took her to school or otherwise she would not go. (AR 58, 70).

B. Report of a Past Supervisor

Thomas began work at McDonald's in August 2010, but quit the job two months later, in October 2010. (AR 229). Her supervisor reported that while Thomas stated when quitting that she could not be around large groups of people, felt anxious, and "would hyperventilate," henever witnessed these anxiety behaviors. (AR 229). He stated that she did call off frequently offering only minimal explanation, but she never had to leave during a work shift. (AR 229). He said that she had no difficulty maintaining a routine, concentrating on assigned work, understanding and carrying out instructions, completing assigned work, working in proximity to others, getting along with supervisors and coworkers, accepting instructions and criticisms, handling change, asking for assistance when needed, and working under normal supervision. (AR 229).

C. Summary of the Relevant Medical Evidence

In April 2010, Thomas was interviewed by Amy Dunn, a clinical social worker at the Bowen Center. (AR 340-43). Thomas came alone and presented as depressed and "relaxed," with a good memory, coherent thinking, a cooperative attitude, and no perceptual abnormalities. (AR 340). She complained of poor concentration and memory, a lack of motivation, low energy, irritability, and fatigue, but reported no problems with anger or behavioral issues. (AR 340). She stated that she has panic attacks and becomes very anxious in crowds; she worries about dying. (AR 340). She had experienced trauma in her past, including being in a serious car accident five years earlier. (AR 340). She denied having any current or past suicidal or homicidal thoughts. (AR 340). She was taking Effexor, but did not think it was working; she had previously taken Zoloft, but stated that had not worked either. (AR 340). She told Ms. Dunn that she had attended counseling in the past but did not find it helpful because she did not follow through with the counselor's recommendations. (AR 340). She stated that if she could not find a job pretty soon, she was going to try and go to college. (AR 340). Ms. Dunn concluded that Thomas met the criteria for a major depressive disorder, recurrent, moderate, andfor panic disorder with agoraphobia, commenting that she had a good prognosis for making significant progress in treatment. (AR 342).

In May 2010, Thomas saw Marla McQuinn, a mental health counselor, for a counseling session. (AR 333). Thomas was frustrated because she wanted to do more with her children, yet she did not want to leave home. (AR 333). Ms. McQuinn noted that Thomas had mild distress, restlessness, and anxiety; overall, her condition was unchanged from her prior visit. (AR 333).

Later in May 2010, Dr. Hani Ahmad, a psychiatrist at the Bowen Center, evaluated Thomas upon referral from Ms. McQuinn. (AR 334). She described feelings of depression, increased worry, anxiety, fatigue, and problems with attention and concentration; she also reported experiencing panic attacks when in public places. (AR 335-36). Dr. Ahmad noted that Thomas's thoughts were linear, logical, and goal-oriented; her mood was good, and her affect appropriate. (AR 335-36). She demonstrated fair judgment and insight; no memory deficits were noted. (AR 336). She had no active suicidal or homicidal thoughts. (AR 337). Dr. Ahmad increased her Effexor dosage. (AR 337). He assigned her a Global Assessment of Functioning ("GAF") score of "50-70" and diagnosed her with a major depressive disorder, recurrent, moderate,...