02-1515 Sims v. Barnhart

Listen to this article

“Sims contends that substantial evidence fails to support the ALJ’s Step 5 determination because the VE testified that she would be unemployable if her allegations of physical and mental limitations were credible. But the ALJ did not find all of Sims’s allegations credible, concluding that Sims’s ‘testimony and statements about the intensity, persistence, and limiting effects of her symptoms are not reasonably consistent with the record as a whole.’ This court will not disturb an ALJ’s credibility findings unless they are patently wrong. See Diaz, 55 F.3d at 308.

“Nonetheless, in assessing Sims’s RFC of simple and repetitive light work, the ALJ considered some of Sims’s allegations as well as the limitations imposed by her impairments. The ALJ recognized Sims’s history of syncope and complaints of dizziness by concluding that she could not drive, perform jobs involving dangerous moving machinery, or work at unprotected heights. The ALJ also considered Sims’s mental impairments by concluding that she could not perform jobs involving complex work processes or unusual levels of stress. Moreover, based on Dr. Henderson’s suggested limitation of heavy lifting and strenuous activity, the ALJ concluded that Sims could not lift or carry more than ten pounds frequently or twenty pounds occasionally.

“The VE considered the above limitations when determining whether jobs existed in Indiana that Sims could perform. The ALJ explained to the VE that those limitations resulted from kidney disease with hypertension, headaches, history of lacunar infarcts, anemia, borderline intellectual functioning, depression, and a history of alcoholism. Taking into account all of those impairments and limitations, the VE testified that approximately 8,600 jobs were available in Indiana that Sims could perform. The ALJ did not err in relying on that testimony because it reflected Sims’s impairments to the extent that the ALJ found them supported by the evidence in the record.”

Affirmed.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Southern District of Indiana, Barker, J., Manion, J.