USCA1 Opinion

December 14, 1995

[NOT FOR PUBLICATION]

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS

FOR THE FIRST CIRCUIT

____________________

No. 95-1646

DAVIS VELEZ,

Plaintiff, Appellant,

v.

SECRETARY OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES,

Defendant, Appellee.

____________________

APPEAL FROM THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

FOR THE DISTRICT OF PUERTO RICO

[Hon. Carmen Consuelo Cerezo, U.S. District Judge]

___________________

____________________

Before

Selya, Stahl and Lynch,

Circuit Judges.
______________

____________________

Raymond Rivera Esteves on brief for appellant.

______________________
Guillermo Gil,
______________
Assistant United
Regional

Counsel,

United

States

States Attorney,
Social

Security

Attorney, Maria Hortensia Ri

____________________
and

Nancy B. Salafia,
_________________

Administration,

appellee.

____________________

on

Assist
brief

____________________

Per Curiam.
__________

Davis

Velez appeals from a district

judgment affirming a decision of the

Human

Services

denying

Velez's

security disability benefits.

court

Secretary of Health and

application

We affirm.

for

social

Velez applied for social security benefits on

10, 1992, alleging

that he

could not work

September

due to

"nerves,

back, and ankle pain."

After a hearing, an Adminstrative Law

Judge (ALJ) concluded

that Velez has a severe combination of

impairments with a history of herniated nucleus pulposus

depression and anxiety related disorders.

Velez is unable

and

He also found that

to perform his past work.

However, the ALJ

concluded that Velez has the residual functional capacity for

light work,

exclusive

of

jobs

requiring

him

to

perform

complex tasks or to have frequent contact with the public.

Finally,

the ALJ

ruled that,

based on

the testimony

vocational expert (VE) and application of the Grid,

not disabled because

of a

Velez is

there are light, unskilled jobs that he

can perform.

Velez

does not

argue

physical capacity for

the ALJ

erred

capacity.

We

in

on

appeal

light work.

his

findings

review

the

that

he

lacks

Instead, he argues

regarding

Secretary's

Velez's

decision

the

that

mental

under

"substantial evidence" standard; we will affirm that decision

if

it

is

reasonable

supported

mind

conclusion.'"

(1971)

197, 229

might

by

"`such

accept

Richardson v.
__________

as

relevant

adequate

Perales,
_______

(quoting Consolidated Edison Co.

________________________

(1938)); see also

________

evidence

402

to

support

U.S. 389,

v. NLRB,
____

Rodriguez Pagan v.
_______________

as

401

305 U.S.

Secretary of
____________

Health & Human Servs., 819

______________________

F.2d 1, 3

(1st Cir.

1987) (per

curiam), cert. denied, 484 U.S. 1012 (1988).

____________

The medical

record reveals that

Mental Health Center in

Velez appeared

cooperative,

intellect.

Arecibo on July 28, 1992.

anxious and

logical, and

He

Velez was seen

somewhat depressed, he

coherent

was diagnosed

with apparently

as suffering

at the

Although

was also

normal

from adjustment

problems,

with

depressive

mood,

and

was

prescribed

medication.

Between September

was

seen on

six occasions

connection with

Dr.

Lopez

suffering

Although

from

from

disorder

noted

with

He

with

insight, and

Velez

On October

and

with

that Velez

reality

also

fair

and

found

memory,

that

State

Fund

of

that Velez was

presented

Velez

as

traits.

reported episodes

unimpaired

Insurance

7, 1992,

depressive

preserved intellectual ability.

the

Fund in

diagnosed him

visual hallucinations, he found

disturbances.

records

anxiety

22, 1993, Velez

State Insurance

his mental condition.

Dr. Lopez

contact

oriented,

at the

Cumpiano evaluated

auditive and

in

11, 1992 and January

no

was

thought

clear

judgment,

and

fair

The remaining

are

not

very

informative, but Velez is consistently described as alert and

oriented.

On

Sandoz,

November 10, 1992, Velez was

a consultant to the

examined by Dr. Mojica

Secretary.

Dr. Mojica observed

-3-

that

Velez

was markedly

anxious

and tense,

and

that his

movements were somewhat slow.

However, Dr. Mojica found that

Velez was accessible, cooperative, and frank, and that he did

not show any difficulty

in establishing adequate and lasting

interpersonal relationships.

adequate capacity

to pay

He further found that Velez had

attention and to

concentrate, was

oriented, functioned with an average intellectual makeup, and

had

adequate

judgment

and

memory.

The

diagnosis

was

moderate, generalized anxiety disorder.

non-examining medical

reviewed

much

Psychiatric

Functional

noted

some

of

this

consultant

evidence

Review Technique

form

Capacity Assessment.

moderate

limitations

to

and

and

Secretary

completed

Although

on

the

Mental

both

Residual

the

consultant

various

capacities

required

for

unskilled

conclusion that

demanding

have

Velez is

work

routines, and

work,

he

capable of

environment--with

reached

the

general

functioning in a

simple

non-

instructions,

decisions--as long as Velez is not required to

frequent

contact

with

the general

latter limitations were reflected

the VE, who, in

public.1

These

in a hypothetical posed to

turn, identified specific jobs in

the local

____________________

1.

A second

evidence,

consultant, who apparently reviewed

agreed

with

the

first

without additional comment.

-4-

all of the

consultant's conclusions

economy that Velez could

we

think that there

Secretary's

ALJ

perform.2

Under the circumstances,

is substantial evidence

finding of no disability.

adopted the

consultant's general

limitations,

to support the

We add that since the

conclusions regarding

Velez's

mental

any differences

checked

on the Psychiatric Review Technique

and the consultant are of no consequence.

in

the boxes

form by the ALJ

Affirmed.
_________

____________________

2.

Velez suggests that the hypothetical posed to the

VE was

incomplete since

it

did not

include

limitations noted by the consultant.

of Health & Human Servs., 670
_________________________
(hypothetical

must

limitations).

This

district

think

argument

moderate

conclusion,

that the
limitations

and that

moderate

F.2d 374, 375 (1st Cir. 1982)

was

reflect
not

court, and we deem it waived.

event, we

the

See Arocho v. Secretary

___ ______
_________

accurately

v. Chemlawn Corp., 904 F.2d

______________

these

all of

claimant's

presented

findings

were subsumed

the hypothetical

this conclusion.

-5-

the

See, e.g., Sandstrom

___ ____ _________

83, 87 (1st Cir. 1990).

consultant's

to

in

his

In any
regarding
general

accurately reflected