The following excerpt is from Villa v. Colvin, No. 2:12-cv-0094 CKD (E.D. Cal. 2013):
To meet a listed impairment, plaintiff bears the burden of establishing that she meets each characteristic of a listed impairment relevant to her claim. See Burch v. Barnhart, 400 F.3d 676, 683 (9th Cir. 2005). To equal a listed impairment, a claimant must establish symptoms, signs and laboratory findings "at least equal in severity and duration" to the characteristics of a relevant listed impairment, or, if a claimant's impairment is not listed, then to the listed impairment "most like" the claimant's impairment. 20 C.F.R. 416.926. A finding of equivalence must be based on medical evidence only. 20 C.F.R. 416.929(d)(3).
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