May 13, 1996
[NOT FOR PUBLICATION]
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FIRST CIRCUIT
No. 96-1034
JAIME MARTINEZ-ROJAS,
Plaintiff, Appellant,
v.
COMMISSIONER OF SOCIAL SECURITY,
Defendant, Appellee.
APPEAL FROM THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF PUERTO RICO
[Hon. Juan M. Perez-Gimenez, U.S. District Judge]
Before
Torruella, Chief Judge,
Stahl and Lynch, Circuit Judges.
Melba N. Rivera-Camacho and Rivera, Requena & Assocs. on brief
for appellant.
Guillermo Gil, United States Attorney, Rosa E. Rodriguez-Velez,
Chief, Civil Division, and Wayne G. Lewis, Assistant Regional Counsel,
Social Security Administration, on brief for appellee.
Per Curiam. We have carefully reviewed the
record and conclude that substantial evidence supports the
Secretary's determination that claimant was not entitled to
social security disability benefits. We have considered all
of claimant's arguments and, finding them without merit,
affirm the judgment essentially for the reasons stated by the
district court. We add only these comments.
Claimant now argues, as he did before the district
court, that the record does not support the conclusion that
his skin condition does not limit his ability to do his past
relevant work because he can use gloves. On the contrary, it
was within the province of the Secretary to reach that
common-sense conclusion, considering not only the medical
findings stated in the dermatologist's letter, but also
claimant's own testimony about the intermittent nature of the
condition, its alleviation through treatment, his past
practice of sometimes wearing gloves while doing maintenance
work, his past ability to function many years with the
condition (he said he had it since he was 12), and his
failure to list the skin condition in his application as a
reason why he cannot work. See Gordils v. Secretary of
Health & Human Services, 921 F.2d 327, 329 (1st Cir. 1990).
Affirmed.
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