- Posts: 15
× Members
PIP Appeal advice
- jan777
- Topic Author
- Offline
Less More
9 years 11 months ago #134998 by jan777
PIP Appeal advice was created by jan777
Hi
I have been on DLA since 2007 , high rate mobility , low rate care.
I was ONE day late returning my renewal form as I had been ill with the third bout of shingles in 9 months , my claim was cancelled even after asking them to reconsider my reasons for being late.
I had to apply for PIP which took 7 months for the DWP to finally award.
I was awarded daily component for both mobility and care.
I asked for a mandatory reconsideration which I have just received back and the awards have stayed the same.
I don't think anyone had even read it as it was an identical award that I already had , no regard whatsoever for the extra information supplied and not a mention of the fact my reason for requesting the mandatory reconsideration was because the assessor did not do any of the tests she should of in order to assess my mobility.... She never even asked me to stand up and not once did she check my knees as I have torn meniscus in both knees and 5 failed operations later I have been on 2 elbow crutches for nearly 4 years.
My ex partner had a massive heart attack and died suddenly last year , he was my unofficial carer and I am completely lost without his support.
I have massive anxiety and panic disorder which they are aware of as I had a massive panic attack when I last attended the ESA medical and the report clearly states what happened and how distressed I was.
My 19 yr old daughter has bipolar, borderline personality disorder and various emotional issues , she has attempted suicide on more than one occasion.
My panic and anxiety has increased to such a level that I rarely , in fact never leave the house anymore. In the early hours of the morning of the ASOS assessment , she was rushed into hospital with an appendicitis and I was so overwhelmed with anxiety I couldn't go with her and had to leave her to go in the ambulance alone.
I had absolutely no sleep on the morning of my assessment and was quite clearly distressed but the ASOS assessor just continued with the report regardless.
My 80 yr old Dad who is almost deaf and got cataracts in both eyes was supposed to be with me at the assessment at my home but he was in the A+E with my daughter and the assessor turned up over 1hour and 15 minutes earlier than the appointment time so he wouldn't of been there anyway.
She hardly asked me any questions and just scribbled info down herself .
She did not do ANY form of physical examination and yet has reported that I can stand and walk 50 m but no more than 200m which is ridiculous and as a result I am no longer entitled to my blue badge and without that I am even less likely to go out than before without knowing I can access places without struggling on 2 crutches I can't imagine me ever going out !
I really feel it is unfair that I wasn't even given a medical of any kind and yet the ASOS assessor has reported that I am able to perform things that she never tested me for and the mandatory reconsideration doesn't even mention the reasons I asked for it was due to the assessor basically telling fibs !
She never bothered including an updated prescription or any of the hospital papers regarding my admission to Hospital on Christmas Eve over Christmas.
If possible could you advise as to how I move forward with an appeal ?
I won't go to the tribunal as I just know I will not be able to control my anxiety without some serious medication and if that is the case then there really isn't any point in me being there. Could somebody represent me at the hearing ?
Any advice you could offer will be sincerely appreciated.
I have been on DLA since 2007 , high rate mobility , low rate care.
I was ONE day late returning my renewal form as I had been ill with the third bout of shingles in 9 months , my claim was cancelled even after asking them to reconsider my reasons for being late.
I had to apply for PIP which took 7 months for the DWP to finally award.
I was awarded daily component for both mobility and care.
I asked for a mandatory reconsideration which I have just received back and the awards have stayed the same.
I don't think anyone had even read it as it was an identical award that I already had , no regard whatsoever for the extra information supplied and not a mention of the fact my reason for requesting the mandatory reconsideration was because the assessor did not do any of the tests she should of in order to assess my mobility.... She never even asked me to stand up and not once did she check my knees as I have torn meniscus in both knees and 5 failed operations later I have been on 2 elbow crutches for nearly 4 years.
My ex partner had a massive heart attack and died suddenly last year , he was my unofficial carer and I am completely lost without his support.
I have massive anxiety and panic disorder which they are aware of as I had a massive panic attack when I last attended the ESA medical and the report clearly states what happened and how distressed I was.
My 19 yr old daughter has bipolar, borderline personality disorder and various emotional issues , she has attempted suicide on more than one occasion.
My panic and anxiety has increased to such a level that I rarely , in fact never leave the house anymore. In the early hours of the morning of the ASOS assessment , she was rushed into hospital with an appendicitis and I was so overwhelmed with anxiety I couldn't go with her and had to leave her to go in the ambulance alone.
I had absolutely no sleep on the morning of my assessment and was quite clearly distressed but the ASOS assessor just continued with the report regardless.
My 80 yr old Dad who is almost deaf and got cataracts in both eyes was supposed to be with me at the assessment at my home but he was in the A+E with my daughter and the assessor turned up over 1hour and 15 minutes earlier than the appointment time so he wouldn't of been there anyway.
She hardly asked me any questions and just scribbled info down herself .
She did not do ANY form of physical examination and yet has reported that I can stand and walk 50 m but no more than 200m which is ridiculous and as a result I am no longer entitled to my blue badge and without that I am even less likely to go out than before without knowing I can access places without struggling on 2 crutches I can't imagine me ever going out !
I really feel it is unfair that I wasn't even given a medical of any kind and yet the ASOS assessor has reported that I am able to perform things that she never tested me for and the mandatory reconsideration doesn't even mention the reasons I asked for it was due to the assessor basically telling fibs !
She never bothered including an updated prescription or any of the hospital papers regarding my admission to Hospital on Christmas Eve over Christmas.
If possible could you advise as to how I move forward with an appeal ?
I won't go to the tribunal as I just know I will not be able to control my anxiety without some serious medication and if that is the case then there really isn't any point in me being there. Could somebody represent me at the hearing ?
Any advice you could offer will be sincerely appreciated.
Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.
- Gordon
- Offline
Less More
- Posts: 51284
9 years 11 months ago #135005 by Gordon
Nothing on this board constitutes legal advice - always consult a professional about specific problems
Replied by Gordon on topic PIP Appeal advice
Janet
Whilst it can be tempting to concentrate on the deficiencies of the assessment report it is unlikely your doing so will lead to an increased award, you need to show that you meet the criteria for an Enhanced award first and then show how the report is in error.
You don't say how many points you scored for each component and therefore how great the task you face is, this is particularly important for the Mobility component where you have limited opportunity to score points.
Whilst I think it unlikely given your award remained unchanged by the DWP following the Mandatory Reconsideration, I do need to warn you that the Tribunal can arrive at any Decision that was available to the original DWP Decision Maker, this includes removing one or both parts of your current award.
Also, if you opt for a paper hearing that you do not attend, then statistically your chances of success are significantly reduced. Tribunal panels are aware that claimants often have to take the maximum dosage that has been prescribed in order to attend a hearing, often presenting themselves in a way which is not typical of how they are normally and make allowances for this.
I assume that you used our PIP Claim guides to complete the claim form, now that you have the assessors report you should go back through it to see how you might adjust your answers to take account of what the assessor has said.
If you have any specific questions, then please reply to this post and we will do our best to help.
Gordon
Whilst it can be tempting to concentrate on the deficiencies of the assessment report it is unlikely your doing so will lead to an increased award, you need to show that you meet the criteria for an Enhanced award first and then show how the report is in error.
You don't say how many points you scored for each component and therefore how great the task you face is, this is particularly important for the Mobility component where you have limited opportunity to score points.
Whilst I think it unlikely given your award remained unchanged by the DWP following the Mandatory Reconsideration, I do need to warn you that the Tribunal can arrive at any Decision that was available to the original DWP Decision Maker, this includes removing one or both parts of your current award.
Also, if you opt for a paper hearing that you do not attend, then statistically your chances of success are significantly reduced. Tribunal panels are aware that claimants often have to take the maximum dosage that has been prescribed in order to attend a hearing, often presenting themselves in a way which is not typical of how they are normally and make allowances for this.
I assume that you used our PIP Claim guides to complete the claim form, now that you have the assessors report you should go back through it to see how you might adjust your answers to take account of what the assessor has said.
If you have any specific questions, then please reply to this post and we will do our best to help.
Gordon
Nothing on this board constitutes legal advice - always consult a professional about specific problems
Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.
Moderators: Gordon, Gary, BIS, Catherine, Wendy, Kelly, greekqueen, peter, Katherine, Super User, Chris, David