- Posts: 51076
× Members
Not a lot of medical evidence
- bubbles
- Topic Author
8 years 6 months ago #142532 by bubbles
Not a lot of medical evidence was created by bubbles
Hi all
I was wondering if you could possibly answer a question for me. It's not for me personally, but someone else.
They had a terrible accident nearly thirty years ago where they received a severe head injury and basically was lucky to be alive. They were discharged and never received any medical help after and were just left to it.
The resulting emotional, personal and communication problems they incurred they have just put up with and these result in them unable to cope with seeing doctors and specialists etc as they get very stressed in those situations.
The point being is that they have little evidence to back up the effect of the brain injury except the evidence of the brain injury themselves.
I have taken a while to persuade them to go to the doctors to get help regarding the illness and emotional problems they have and he is reluctant to discuss the cognitive and social problems he has.
So, finally the question, I believe he is entitled to pip but he is reluctant to claim as he has rarely seen the doctor, as the whole point of how your disability effects you, is the way in which your limitations effect you rather than the actual medical evidence of having these illnesses.
Do you think the fact that he has little recent evidence of the problems he has been having since his brain injury and the fact it was a long time ago will make it very hard for him to apply or do you think as decisions seem very swayed towards the hp report that they will be able to make a good decision based on how his assessment goes?
Thanks all in advance. This site is fantastic and an amazing source of help and I am very grateful to be able to access it.
Thanks
I was wondering if you could possibly answer a question for me. It's not for me personally, but someone else.
They had a terrible accident nearly thirty years ago where they received a severe head injury and basically was lucky to be alive. They were discharged and never received any medical help after and were just left to it.
The resulting emotional, personal and communication problems they incurred they have just put up with and these result in them unable to cope with seeing doctors and specialists etc as they get very stressed in those situations.
The point being is that they have little evidence to back up the effect of the brain injury except the evidence of the brain injury themselves.
I have taken a while to persuade them to go to the doctors to get help regarding the illness and emotional problems they have and he is reluctant to discuss the cognitive and social problems he has.
So, finally the question, I believe he is entitled to pip but he is reluctant to claim as he has rarely seen the doctor, as the whole point of how your disability effects you, is the way in which your limitations effect you rather than the actual medical evidence of having these illnesses.
Do you think the fact that he has little recent evidence of the problems he has been having since his brain injury and the fact it was a long time ago will make it very hard for him to apply or do you think as decisions seem very swayed towards the hp report that they will be able to make a good decision based on how his assessment goes?
Thanks all in advance. This site is fantastic and an amazing source of help and I am very grateful to be able to access it.
Thanks
Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.
- Gordon
- Offline
Less More
8 years 6 months ago #142536 by Gordon
Nothing on this board constitutes legal advice - always consult a professional about specific problems
Replied by Gordon on topic Not a lot of medical evidence
bubbles
I'll be honest and say that I think your friend will struggle and given some of the symptoms that you have mentioned in your post, I feel obliged to raise concerns as to whether a claim for PIP will have a negative effect on their health.
Thirty years is a long time ago and there will be questions raised as to whether there has been any improvement over that time, I realise for some brain injuries the likelihood of this may be low to non-existent, or whether they has been able to adapt to their limitations, so I do not think that they can rely solely on the evidence from the original injury, also I suspect, some of their problems may not have come to the fore or have only reached their current severity over time.
I would suggest they start by discussing the issue with their GP as it would seem likely that their only likely route to success will be with their GP's help. In short, if the DWP did contact the DWP and they state that they have no knowledge of their problems then the claim is not going to go very far. They may be willing to make referrals to specialist consultants who in addition to providing treatment may be able to provide medical evidence to support a claim.
They should also have a look at the PIP Claim guide, although you feel that they meet the criteria, it will be them that will have to convince an assessor and a DWP Decision Maker, so they need to be sure in their own mind that an award is possible.
They should pay particular attention to the use of "reliably" and "the majority of days" as they will undoubtedly be key to any award.
If we can help more them, reply to this post.
Gordon
I'll be honest and say that I think your friend will struggle and given some of the symptoms that you have mentioned in your post, I feel obliged to raise concerns as to whether a claim for PIP will have a negative effect on their health.
Thirty years is a long time ago and there will be questions raised as to whether there has been any improvement over that time, I realise for some brain injuries the likelihood of this may be low to non-existent, or whether they has been able to adapt to their limitations, so I do not think that they can rely solely on the evidence from the original injury, also I suspect, some of their problems may not have come to the fore or have only reached their current severity over time.
I would suggest they start by discussing the issue with their GP as it would seem likely that their only likely route to success will be with their GP's help. In short, if the DWP did contact the DWP and they state that they have no knowledge of their problems then the claim is not going to go very far. They may be willing to make referrals to specialist consultants who in addition to providing treatment may be able to provide medical evidence to support a claim.
They should also have a look at the PIP Claim guide, although you feel that they meet the criteria, it will be them that will have to convince an assessor and a DWP Decision Maker, so they need to be sure in their own mind that an award is possible.
They should pay particular attention to the use of "reliably" and "the majority of days" as they will undoubtedly be key to any award.
If we can help more them, reply to this post.
Gordon
Nothing on this board constitutes legal advice - always consult a professional about specific problems
The following user(s) said Thank You: bubbles
Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.
- slugsta
- Offline
Less More
- Posts: 9439
8 years 6 months ago #142540 by slugsta
Nothing on this board constitutes legal advice - always consult a professional about specific problems
Replied by slugsta on topic Not a lot of medical evidence
As a postscript to Gordons excellent (as always) advice -
Unlike ESA, PIP can be refused without the claimant having a face2face assessment. Therefore, if your friend is going to claim, he will have to make a good enough case for the claim to be accepted in the first place. In order to do so, he will need to both accept and admit the problem/s that he might have hitherto been trying to hide.
Unlike ESA, PIP can be refused without the claimant having a face2face assessment. Therefore, if your friend is going to claim, he will have to make a good enough case for the claim to be accepted in the first place. In order to do so, he will need to both accept and admit the problem/s that he might have hitherto been trying to hide.
Nothing on this board constitutes legal advice - always consult a professional about specific problems
The following user(s) said Thank You: bubbles , Gordon
Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.
- bubbles
- Topic Author
8 years 6 months ago #142542 by bubbles
Replied by bubbles on topic Not a lot of medical evidence
Thank you Gordon and Mrs hurtyback, all very helpful.
At his last gp meeting, after taking several years to persuade him to go, he only went as the sickness and dizziness caused was just getting too.much, the gp referred him to a neurologist and advised him to contact LINK, which I believe is for emotional and psychological support. He has an appointment with the neurologist in January but I am finding it hard to persuade him to register with LINK.
He is beginning to accept the communication, social and depression and anxiety problems he has, but is very reluctant to discuss with the gp, but obviously she could tell, hence the referral to LINK.
he has requested his gp records as he can not remember much about the time after his accident, who he seen, treatmen etc.
So would your recommendation be that he discusses his problems with the gp and his possibility of making a pip claim?
Thanks again for all your advice.
At his last gp meeting, after taking several years to persuade him to go, he only went as the sickness and dizziness caused was just getting too.much, the gp referred him to a neurologist and advised him to contact LINK, which I believe is for emotional and psychological support. He has an appointment with the neurologist in January but I am finding it hard to persuade him to register with LINK.
He is beginning to accept the communication, social and depression and anxiety problems he has, but is very reluctant to discuss with the gp, but obviously she could tell, hence the referral to LINK.
he has requested his gp records as he can not remember much about the time after his accident, who he seen, treatmen etc.
So would your recommendation be that he discusses his problems with the gp and his possibility of making a pip claim?
Thanks again for all your advice.
Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.
Moderators: Gordon, Gary, BIS, Catherine, Wendy, Kelly, greekqueen, peter, Katherine, Super User, jimmck, Chris