Appeal postponed for extra evidence - Help Needed!

Hi All,

Apologies in advance for the long winded post, but I'm a little at a loss and hoping someone can help!

I posted earlier in the year for some help with a PIP appeal that I'm helping my sister in law with and am hoping someone on here would be kind enough to help me with a little more advice. We managed to get the appeal postponed from January till she could get a representative from the CAB to go through her case with her.

The CAB went through her PIP file and told her she should be contesting all the descriptiors that were incorrect. They went through the medical report with her and in a document contested all the incorrect information and put down the descriptor they thought she satisfied and then sent this document off on her behalf as extra evidence to the court.

Up until this point, during the Mandatory Reconstruction stage and when filing in the appeal application form we had only contested the mobility descriptor.

Although we knew there was incorrect information in the other areas and she could possibly score some more points, she had already got enough points to qualify for standard daily living, but not enough points for the PIP mobility after being on high rate DLA mobility. And at the time we did the MR and started the appeal process she was happy to stick with the points for the PIP daily living as she felt she could not cope with the stress and anxiety of contesting them all and so we focused on just this one mobility descriptor.

She had the telephone tribunal last week and they were completely confused at the 180 between what we put in the MR and appeal application contesting just the mobility descriptor and then the extra evidence that the CAB submitted on her behalf contesting all the descriptiors. And so now the tribunal has been postponed to gather more evidence, they have asked for her most recent ESA (she is in support group, but we had to go to MR for that), her DLA file, and her G.P medical notes for just the last 2 years.

She has contacted the CAB again today who have told her that she doesn't need to supply anything else other than what has been asked for....but I'm not so sure? I feel it will not be enough evidence!

The last 2 years of G.P notes are not going to show much as she has been fairly stable, it does not show the progression of her illness or why she is on the treatments she is on, or that she has tried everything.

I was wondering if we should submit copies of her specialist clinic letters from when she was diagnosed up till now to show how her illness has progressed?

How do we explain the change of direction to them?

Can we ask them to disregard the evidence the CAB submitted or will it just make matters worse?

I would be very grateful for any advice or anything else anyone can think of that could be helpful with the appeal?

Thanks in advance
Izzy x

Hi Gordon,

Thank you for the reply.

Yes I understand that a higher award maybe appropriate for her and that's what the CAB advised her at the second appointment she had with them. They did a document for her which they submitted as extra evidence on her behalf contesting all the descriptiors.

At the MR stage before going to the CAB for advice, we did realize that she could possibly score maybe one or 2 more points on the daily living criteria, but felt this wouldn't have been enough to put her into the enhanced daily living criteria.
As she had been already awarded the standard rate, she decided that she did not feel strong enough mentally to cope with challenging all of it and so we focused all her energy on just the mobility criteria.
We did this for the MR stage but was unsuccessful at changing the award.

When she applied for the appeal the CAB helped her challenged it on that same one descriptor (just the moving around one).

The tribunal that she had last week was confused at the change in direction because of the extra evidence sent from the CAB at that second appointment and so has postponed to gather more evidence.

She will then be rescheduled for another tribunal once extra evidence has been submitted to them. And they have said we can send any extra evidence on top that we feel is appropriate. I understand that you cannot comment on the exact evidence we should submit.

But I was wondering if you could give me your thoughts on if would be harmful to her appeal to submit such extra evidence?
She is being told by the CAB not to worry and not to bother supplying anything else and I do not want to hurt her appeal, but I feel it would be useful to them...I'm unsure if im on the right track?

At the moment the CAB are unable to offer any more help and are unable to be there to represent her, so we are back to sorting this out on our own again.

I know you can't comment on specific cases, but in these sorts of circumstances do you need to explain to the tribunal the change in direction somehow? And if so, how is this best done?

Thanks again
Izzy

This is just my personal take, I'm not a mod or anything: You have already discovered that CAB aren't going to go all the way holding your hand as you might have hoped. And that they have done a rather clumsy if well meaning job on this given your sister's limited mental energy. I suspect the Tribunal will have met these deficiencies with CAB part-assisted cases many times, and that's why they have adjourned for more evidence.
Given what you say I would be getting every possible, if relevant, clinic letter together and writing a covering letter/doc explaining, referring to each doc by numbers that you have put on the copies you send [along with her name and NI No at top of each]. Explain briefly but clearly what each doc says about the developments in her conditions and treatments that have brought her to the state she is/was in with her Activities of Daily Living as well as Mobility. As Gary's just added, all at the date of claim. And refer to any clinic comments that they had no further treatments to offer that could bring about improvements in her ADL/Mob. Should you wish to highlight anything remember it all gets scanned in black and white so underlining could be better than coloured highlighting.
You and she have nothing to lose except the effort involved and any letters you pay for, and everything to gain!
Persevere, using the B&W guides, and may right win the day! Denby

Thanks Denby, that's very helpful. Will do my best to help her get it done.

Fingers crossed my health will hold out long enough to help her with seeing it through. That was the whole reason she went to the CAB in the first place!!

Hopefully we will have some time before the tribunal is rescheduled and I can help her with it gradually, but u just never know, could get another date straight away!

Thanks again
Izzy