(a) “Medically disabled.” The term “medically disabled ”refers to disability based solely on impairment(s) which are considered to be so medically severe as to prevent a person from doing any substantial gainful activity. The Board will base its decision about whether the claimant's impairment(s) is medically disabling on medical evidence only, without consideration of the claimant's residual functional capacity, age, education or work experience. The Board will also consider the medical opinion given by one or more physicians employed or engaged by the Board or the Social Security Administration to make medical judgments. The medical evidence used to establish a diagnosis or confirm the existence of an impairment, and to establish the severity of the impairment includes medical findings consisting of signs, symptoms and laboratory findings. The medical findings must be based on medically acceptable clinical and laboratory diagnostic techniques. If the claimant has more than one impairment, but none of the impairments, by themselves, is medically disabling, the Board will review the signs, symptoms, and laboratory findings of all of the impairments to determine whether the combination of impairments is medically disabling. In general, impairments that the Board considers to be medically disabling are:

(1) Permanent;

(2) Expected to result in death; or

(3) Have a specific length of duration.

(b) Diagnosis of impairments. A diagnosis of a particular impairment is not sufficient for a finding of medical disability, unless the diagnosis is supported by medical findings that are based on medically acceptable clinical and laboratory techniques.

(c) Addiction to alcohol or drugs. If a claimant has a condition diagnosed as addiction to alcohol or drugs, this condition will not, by itself, be a basis for determining whether the claimant is, or is not, disabled. As with any other medical condition, the Board will decide whether the claimant is disabled based on symptoms, signs, and laboratory findings.

[74 FR 63601, Dec. 4, 2009]