Schmoll v. Harris

The issue in this appeal is whether the Secretary's denial of plaintiff's application for disability benefits is supported by substantial evidence. We believe the record does not support the Secretary's finding that plaintiff's use of Librium does not preclude her from engaging in substantial gainful employment. Accordingly, we reverse and remand for further proceedings. Claimant, Maxine Schmoll, was born on June 15, 1921. She received a high school education before entering the work force in 1938. Claimant's employment history is almost exclusively in quality control areas of manufacturing. Her early employment included: assembling fly swatters; weighing and checking cans of meat at a meat-packing plant; inspecting the seams on cargo parachutes; and examining ball bearings and prisms for defects. In 1944 she began work at the Eli Lilly plant in Indianapolis, Indiana. At Eli Lilly she sorted, inspected and labeled pill bottles until September 1971. At that time she ceased working, complaining of arthritis in the neck, severe pain in her left shoulder and left leg, and a recurring numbness in her hands and arms.