U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, 2025

Christine Kensinger v. Michelle King

Christine Kensinger v. Michelle King
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit · Decided February 12, 2025

Christine Kensinger v. Michelle King

Opinion

United States Court of Appeals For the Eighth Circuit ___________________________ No. 24-2113 ___________________________ Christine Louise Kensinger lllllllllllllllllllllPlaintiff - Appellant v. Michelle King, Acting Commissioner of the Social Security Administration1; Judge Walter Hellums, Administrative Law Judge lllllllllllllllllllllDefendants - Appellees ____________ Appeal from United States District Court for the Western District of Missouri - Springfield ____________ Submitted: February 6, 2025 Filed: February 12, 2025 [Unpublished] ____________ Before LOKEN, KELLY, and ERICKSON, Circuit Judges. ____________ PER CURIAM.

Michelle King has been appointed to serve as Acting Commissioner of the Social Security Administration, and is substituted as appellee pursuant to Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure 43(c).

Christine Kensinger appeals the district court’s2 order affirming the denial of disability insurance benefits. We agree with the court that substantial evidence in the record as a whole supports the adverse decision. See Swink v. Saul, 931 F.3d 765, 769 (8th Cir. 2019) (standard of review).

Specifically, we find that substantial evidence supported the Administrative Law Judge’s (ALJ’s) conclusion that Kensinger’s exposure to mold was not a severe impairment. See Page v. Astrue, 484 F.3d 1040, 1044 (8th Cir. 2007). The ALJ did not err in discounting the medical opinions on housing assistance forms, which did not identify specific functional limitations, and used a definition of “disability” that differs from the definition of “disability” in the Social Security Act. See 42 U.S.C. § 423(d)(1); KKC v. Colvin, 818 F.3d 364, 371 (8th Cir. 2016). While Kensinger also argues that the ALJ erred in failing to consider records from her chiropractic provider, that is not an acceptable medical source for determining disability. See Miller v. Colvin, 784 F.3d 472, 478 (8th Cir. 2015); Craig v. Apfel, 212 F.3d 433, 436 (8th Cir. 2000).

Accordingly, we affirm the judgment of the district court. We also deny Kensinger’s motion to supplement the record on appeal. ______________________________

The Honorable Brian C. Wimes, United States District Judge for the Western District of Missouri.

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Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.