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postponed tribunal
- Irene
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6 years 1 month ago #228351 by Irene
postponed tribunal was created by Irene
My tribunal was postponed by the judges because I disagreed with the first statement they gave that I was satisfied with the 10 points I had been given for mobility. I explained that it had been written by the adviser at my local advice centre. She had told me that I could not get 12 points as I could put one foot in front of the other, so I would have to challenge on the planning a journey task. As I was disputting the mobility section, they postponed it to give time for more details, i,e medical records and DLA forms from my first award, which I had been getting since 2010.The judges emphasised it was to my benefit that they had postponed. I have now received a letter asking for a google map showing how far I claim I can walk to be received by them within a month.It says they will look afresh at planning and following a journey and the moving around descriptors. The last line states, It is possible to withdraw the appeal, If an appeal is withdrawn the appeal ends. Now I am wondering are they saying this to warn me off and I would loose all benefits if I were to procede. My conditions include, Degenerative Disc Disease, Fibromyalgia, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Chronic Kidney Disease stage3 , IBS, urinary urgency, hypertension, generalised arthritis and depression. I was previously on High rate mobility since 2010, and my conditions have deteriorated since then. I never claimed for care then, but following my PIP assessment I was awarded the standard rate for care.but 0 for mobility. After a mandatory appeal I was given 10 points for mobility, but still lost my car, which was my means of having any independance. I am at my wits end worrying about wether to procede or not. Please advise if you can.
IRH
IRH
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6 years 1 month ago #228361 by Gordon
Nothing on this board constitutes legal advice - always consult a professional about specific problems
Replied by Gordon on topic postponed tribunal
Irene
Does the letter say anything about the Tribunal being able to make any Decision that the DWP
could including reducing or removing your existing award, or words similar to this? If it does then the Judge is warning you that your existing award could be at risk if you continue with the appeal as based on the evidence that you have so far submitted, they are concerned that your current award is not justified.
If it does not include anything that might be considered a warning then you will have to decide for yourself whether you should continue or not, I can only explain your options.
When you last posted, about a year ago, there was nothing in your post that suggested you would score for the Going Out activity so I am surprised that your advisor has suggested that you might!
This would suggest that your only route to an Enhanced award would be by your showing that you could not, at the time of the Decision being appealed, reliably walk more than 20m on the majority of days. Can you reasonably show this?
If you can with evidence to support your testimony, then maybe you should consider continuing with the appeal but if you cannot then I would think carefully about proceeding.
Gordon
Does the letter say anything about the Tribunal being able to make any Decision that the DWP
could including reducing or removing your existing award, or words similar to this? If it does then the Judge is warning you that your existing award could be at risk if you continue with the appeal as based on the evidence that you have so far submitted, they are concerned that your current award is not justified.
If it does not include anything that might be considered a warning then you will have to decide for yourself whether you should continue or not, I can only explain your options.
When you last posted, about a year ago, there was nothing in your post that suggested you would score for the Going Out activity so I am surprised that your advisor has suggested that you might!
This would suggest that your only route to an Enhanced award would be by your showing that you could not, at the time of the Decision being appealed, reliably walk more than 20m on the majority of days. Can you reasonably show this?
If you can with evidence to support your testimony, then maybe you should consider continuing with the appeal but if you cannot then I would think carefully about proceeding.
Gordon
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- Irene
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6 years 1 month ago #228874 by Irene
Replied by Irene on topic postponed tribunal
How do I go about getting proof? Ican only explain how I am in pain when walking any distance, get breathless and tired. Even on a good day there is still discomfort. I can only manage short distances before I need to rest.. Even standing in one position , it feels like my spine is being pulled down. I have been like this for 18 years now and deteriorating as time passes. BUT how do I provide evidence of this. They have the letter from the Surgeon who performed my back operation of the advanced degenerative disc disease, my attendance at the chronic fatigue clinic and my GP notes about the fibromyalgia and Chronic Kidney disease. They said they were adjourning it because I had raised the issue of mobility which was not on the original appeal letter, so they would need to look at it from a different viewpoint than originally thought, i.e the following a journey aspect. I have been totally honest with everything I have stated. Do you still feel I should withdraw my appeal. The new date is 16th May.
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6 years 1 month ago #228910 by Gordon
Nothing on this board constitutes legal advice - always consult a professional about specific problems
Replied by Gordon on topic postponed tribunal
Irene
I'm not offering any view as to whether you should or should not continue with the appeal, this is your decision to make.
Some things to think about in regard to Moving Around
You are not required to walk pain free but any pain that restricts the distance that you can walk should be taken into account.
Specifically for the Moving Around activity, if you are able to walk but you are in severe pain when doing so, then you can argue that your walking is not to a necessary standard and should be disregarded.
The legal test requires you to stand and then move (walk), so if you have problems getting up then you should document these as well.
If you walk slowly then it must take you at least twice the time to cover the 20m as a healthy person would, this could be down to the speed of your walking but could also be the result of having to stop.
You must be able to repeat the distance, so if you could walk it once but not then be able to walk it again within a reasonable timescale then you should be classed as unable to repeat the activity.
I'm afraid I can't tell you how to show your walking is more restricted but things you need to think about is what you can't do, for example what can you walk in your house, how far is the toilet from where you normally sit, things that will count against you are any trips that you make outside, so for example, how do you do your shopping?
You must be able to walk the distance you can, reliably and on the majority of days, both these terms are defined in the PIP Claim guide
www.benefitsandwork.co.uk/help-for-claimants/pip
So you need to explain what you can, how you are limited and why.
Gordon
I'm not offering any view as to whether you should or should not continue with the appeal, this is your decision to make.
Some things to think about in regard to Moving Around
You are not required to walk pain free but any pain that restricts the distance that you can walk should be taken into account.
Specifically for the Moving Around activity, if you are able to walk but you are in severe pain when doing so, then you can argue that your walking is not to a necessary standard and should be disregarded.
The legal test requires you to stand and then move (walk), so if you have problems getting up then you should document these as well.
If you walk slowly then it must take you at least twice the time to cover the 20m as a healthy person would, this could be down to the speed of your walking but could also be the result of having to stop.
You must be able to repeat the distance, so if you could walk it once but not then be able to walk it again within a reasonable timescale then you should be classed as unable to repeat the activity.
I'm afraid I can't tell you how to show your walking is more restricted but things you need to think about is what you can't do, for example what can you walk in your house, how far is the toilet from where you normally sit, things that will count against you are any trips that you make outside, so for example, how do you do your shopping?
You must be able to walk the distance you can, reliably and on the majority of days, both these terms are defined in the PIP Claim guide
www.benefitsandwork.co.uk/help-for-claimants/pip
So you need to explain what you can, how you are limited and why.
Gordon
Nothing on this board constitutes legal advice - always consult a professional about specific problems
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6 years 1 month ago #228990 by TheMerlin486
Replied by TheMerlin486 on topic postponed tribunal
Your explanation on interpretation of the Walking criteria @Gordon should be stickied imo. Excellent answer.
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