United States District Court, N.D. Indiana, Hammond Division
SCOTT A. KNIOLA, Plaintiff,
v.
NANCY A. BERRYHILL, Acting Commissioner of the Social Security Administration, Defendant.
OPINION AND ORDER
PAUL
R. CHERRY MAGISTRATE JUDGE
This
matter is before the Court on a Complaint [DE 1], filed by
Plaintiff Scott A. Kniola on December 2, 2016, and
Plaintiff's Brief in Support of Reversing the Decision of
the Commissioner of Social Security [DE 15], filed by
Plaintiff on August 7, 2017. Plaintiff requests that the
August 13, 2015 decision of the Administrative Law Judge
denying his claim for supplemental security income be
reversed and remanded for further proceedings. On November
14, 2017, the Commissioner filed a response, and Plaintiff
filed a reply on December 1, 2017. For the following reasons,
the Court grants Plaintiff's request for remand.
BACKGROUND
Plaintiff
filed an application for supplemental security income on May
28, 2013. His claim was denied initially and upon
reconsideration. Plaintiff timely requested a hearing, which
was held on May 1, 2015, and presided over by Administrative
Law Judge (ALJ) William G. Reamon. Present at the hearing
were Plaintiff, his attorney, and an impartial vocational
expert.
The ALJ
issued a written decision on August 13, 2015, concluding that
Plaintiff was not disabled based on the following findings:
1. The claimant has not engaged in substantial gainful
activity since May 28, 2013, the application date.
2. The claimant has the following severe impairments:
dysfunction of the major joints, bilateral carpal and cubital
tunnel syndrome; cervical spine degenerative disc disease
with bilateral C5-6 and C6-7 foraminal stenosis; status-post
hernia repair surgery; chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
(COPD); diabetes mellitus; plantar fasciitis; and obesity.
3. The claimant does not have an impairment or combination of
impairments that meets or medically equals the severity of
one of the listed impairments in 20 CFR Part 404, Subpart P,
Appendix 1.
4. After careful consideration of the entire record, the
undersigned finds that the claimant has the residual
functional capacity to perform sedentary work as defined in
20 CFR 416.967(a) except involving occasional lifting,
carrying, pushing and/or pulling up to 10 pounds occasionally
and less than 10 pounds frequently; sitting 6 hours of an
8-hour workday; standing and/or walking 2 hours total of an
8-hour workday with normal breaks; occasional climbing of
ramps and/or stairs, but no climbing of ladders, ropes or
scaffolds; occasional balancing, stooping, kneeling,
crouching or crawling; [must] avoid concentrated exposure to
extremes of temperatures and all exposure to pulmonary
irritants and limited to frequent bilateral
handling/fingering.
5. The claimant is unable to perform any past relevant work.
6. The claimant was born [in 1967] and was 45 years old,
which is defined as a younger individual age 18-44 [sic], on
the date the application was filed. The claimant subsequently
changed age category to a younger individual age 45-49.
7. The claimant has at least a high school education and is
able to communicate in English.
8. Transferability of job skills is not an issue in this case
because the claimant's past relevant work is unskilled.
9. Considering the claimant's age, education, work
experience, and residual functional capacity, there are jobs
that exist in significant numbers in the national economy
that the claimant can perform.
10. The claimant has not been under a disability, as defined
in the Social Security Act, since May 28, 2013, the date ...