Kennedy v. Colvin, No. 12-55430 (9th Cir. 2013)
Annotate this CasePlaintiff, who has an IQ score of 71, appealed the denial of his supplemental security income benefits. The court concluded that plaintiff did not show that his impairments medically equal an IQ score of 60-70, so he has not shown equivalence to all three individual criteria under Listing 12.05C and his condition thus does not equal the listing. Accordingly, the court affirmed the district court's denial of benefits.
Court Description: Social Security. The panel affirmed the district court’s judgment affirming the Commissioner of Social Security’s denial of claimant’s application for supplemental security income benefits under the Social Security Act. At step three of the five-step sequence for evaluating disability claims, a claimant seeking supplemental security income benefits establishes a disability if he meets or equals a listed impairment. The claimant alleged that he medically equaled Listing 12.05C because his physical impairments were so severe that they compensated for the one-point difference between his IQ score and the score required under the Listing. The panel held that the claimant was required to demonstrate that he medically equaled each of the individual criteria under Listing 12.05C, and concluded that he failed to do so.
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