§410.424 Determining total disability: Medical criteria only.

(a) Medical considerations alone shall justify a finding that a miner is (or was) totally disabled where his impairment is one that meets (or met) the duration requirement in §410.412(a)(2) or §410.412(b)(2), and is listed in the appendix to this subpart, or if his impairment is medically the equivalent of a listed impairment. However, medical considerations alone shall not justify a finding that an individual is (or was) totally disabled if other evidence rebuts such a finding, e.g., the individual is (or was) engaged in comparable and gainful work (see §410.412).

(b) An individual's impairment shall be determined to be medically the equivalent of an impairment listed in the appendix to this subpart only if the medical findings with respect thereto are at least equivalent in severity and duration to the listed findings of the listed impairment. Any decision as to whether an individual's impairment is medically the equivalent of an impairment listed in the appendix to this subpart, shall be based on medically accepted clinical and laboratory diagnostic techniques, including a medical judgment furnished by one or more physicians designated by the Administration, relative to the question of medical equivalence.