Appeal

foreverfoggy wrote: Hi there, My daughters appeal is tomorrow and I wanted some advice on a couples of things. Firstly, the atos report that the decision is based on is completely inaccurate. I have sent in a detailed explanation of where it went wrong and I also complained to Atos. Atos sent me an apology letter in which they admitted that the assessor had not taken into account how her illness affected her. Both these documents are enclosed in the 'pack' My first question is: Will this medical report be struck out of the appeal? and What do I do if it is not? Also the decisions page was based on the Atos report and some of the 'facts of the case' are in fact not true. (the assessor, had wrongly interpreted one of her illnesses.)

It is not clear from your post whether ATOS are saying that the whole report is invalid or only aspects, the answer to this will likely dictate how the panel will view it.

You need to be aware that if the report is totally invalidated then the Tribunal may order that a new assessment is carried our before they can continue with the hearing, if this was a DLA or PIP appeal then the likelihood of this happening is quite high, for ESA it is a lot lower and will depend, to some extent, on the quality of your medical evidence.

Finally, most Appeals are decided on the day as a result of what the claimant says in response to the panels questioning. so they may not see it as important as you do to disregard the report. All you can really do at the hearing is correct any comments that they make that are based on the report and are in error.

Gordon

foreverfoggy wrote: I have recently handed in a letter from her consultant backing up her original diagnosis. The original diagnosis was handed in at the same time as the atos report but the DM ignored the letter in favour of Atos. If, for any reason they still refer to the atos report, would it be wise for me to stop the appeal until we have legal advice?

To be honest, stopping the appeal is not an option, you can take advice afterwards, although it is not legal advice that you will require but benefit advice.

I would also remind you that it is not your diagnosis that is being considered but the impact that your conditions have on your day to day activities. ESA will only be awarded if you meet the Descriptors for the benefit and you need to concentrate on arguing that you do during the hearing.

Gordon