Tribunal upheld DWPs decision.
Posted , 6 users are following.
After 10 long months of struggling and suffering, the tribunal service today final put the last nail in my coffin, they awarded me 5 points in one section and 4 in another so not enough points and the DWPs decision was upheld. I'm lost now I really don't know what to do, I have CHD, PAD claudication and long standing PTSD. Not only can i not walk for more than a few paces without serious leg, back and testicle pain I have unstable angina. The angina itself is like reliving my heart attack so I am forced to try and do as little as possible, I have mental health issues going back decades and I did have a carer but since my DLA was stopped I'm unable to pay someone to help take care of me and I am now suffering the effects of self neglect, I can't afford a taxi to hospital appointments and can not walk the distance to a bus stop to take a bus, so I am making myself even more poorly by not getting the right treatments that I need. I am feeling so low I am seriously thinking on packing it all in as the daily pains are too much to bare and i never get out of my home so I can't see what the point of living is if I can't have some decency and a way of helping me have a life. I cannot be given pain medication because of the other medication I'm on will interfere, please can anyone help or tell me what I need to do to get the help I was getting while on DLA.
0 likes, 12 replies
denise15811 Tribscrewedme
Posted
Hi
I'm sorry to hear this. The first thing you need to to is email the Tribunal and ask the to send you the Statement of reasons. When you finally receive this it will tell you all the reasons they gave for not awarding you those much needed points and the evidence (if any) they used. To be able to appeal to the Upper Tribunal you must find an error in law in making that decision. For this you will need to find someone the specialises in finding that error in law. I will tell you though that this is extremely difficult and very rare.
Did you send evidence to the Tribunal relevant to how your conditions affect you daily? PIP is very different to DLA was. They very rarely contact anyone for evidence, the onus is on you to make sure it's sent.
Did you appear in person at your hearing, or did you have a paper based decision?
There's no timescales to the time it can take for the Tribunal to send you the statement of reasons. If you manage to find someone that can find the error in law then the whole process can take well in excess of another year, in fact it can take as long as another 18 months.
If that error in law isn't possible you could re-apply. This of course will depend on your age for PIP. If you're over 65 (sorry but you didn't mention your age) then re-applying for PIP will not be possible. It will have to be Attendance Allowance and for this there's no mobility part.
Did you have someone to help and advise you throughout the process? This often helps, to have someone that knows what they're doing.
As for getting some help with your life and your care. You do not need a disability benefit award to be given some help. You can self refer yourself to your local council for a needs assessment. Or you can ask your GP to refer you. Referring yourself is quicker. What you need to do is google your local council social services department and ring them. They will put you on the waiting list and then someone will come out to see you and do the assessment. From that, they will decide what help you need.
Do you live with a partner or alone? What other benefits do you claim?
Sorry for the million questions, just trying to get a picture, so i'll be able to help you further.
Tribscrewedme denise15811
Posted
Denise sorry I didn't say my age I thought it wasn't relevant, but I am 47. I had my first heart attack at 40 and my health has been slowly deteriorating ever since, The PAD was triggered after the doctors told me I had to exercise after the heart attack, I tried getting back into running but after about 5 metres I was doubled up in so much pain I nearly passed out, the doctors did a blood test and I was rushed into hospital the next day in fear my organs were about to fail as the blood test showed my CK enzymes to be over 3000 and at normal level it should be 60/70. That was the start of my nightmare, I just couldn't walk more than a few feet without this horrible pain running from my ankles up my back. After that I had a Doppler test and was diagnosed with PAD. All the evidence was given to the tribunal but the doctor who was sitting obviously is saying I'm lying and that he thinks I can walk for at least 50 metres, this makes me so angry because I have vascular surgeons evidence stating otherwise. I had support with me and they thought I would have been awarded it and were totally shocked at me being refused. I'm not appealing on points of law I already know that route takes for ever and is hard to win so I'm just going to have to reapply with the evidence I have now that I didn't have at my first PIP claim. I just hope that I get a decent assessor one who will actually look at my evidence. About care, I have already had social services visit me and offer me 2 assistants to call twice a day but they won't cook or do the things I need they would only help in the sense that they would enable me to help myself??? What the he'll good is that.
denise15811 Tribscrewedme
Posted
Your age is every bit relevant because had you been over 65 then you couldn't have re-applied. I didn't know your age and was trying to advise you.
I have no idea about any of those numbers you mentioned above, sorry. PIP is all about how your conditions affect you daily and whether or not you fit those descriptors. It's totally different to DLA.
You say you have more evidence for you new PIP application, that you didn't have with your first claim. Was there any reasons why you didn't send that evidence to the Tribunal in time for your hearing? Unless it was for a totally different condition then the Tribunal would have accepted it and it could have help your claim.
You keep talking about your mobility and how far you can walk. PIP isn't just about your mobility. There's the daily living part of it too.
As for social services and what they offered you, surely it's better than having no help at all? Sometimes in life we have to help ourselves too and i'm sorry if that seems harsh.
I hope your next application for PIP is successful but if you decide to apply straight away because of your recent Tribunal refusal then you may just be refused again, i've heard this happen many times. I hope for you that this isn't what happens. I wish you good luck.
Tribscrewedme denise15811
Posted
Hi Denise, the evidence that the tribunal was given was new but the doctor on the panel refused it and actually disputed a vascular surgeons diagnoses and how far he can walk. As for his care needs I think because I am working they were not satisfied that I look after him especially on a night time. He needs more help on a night than during the day because his PTSD has given him really horrendous night terrors which cause him to be incontinent, he needs someone to be there for him when this happens, I can't imagine what it must be like when he is on his own and that happens I just know if I'm there at his or he is at mine when it does, it is bloody terrifying for me let alone how he must feel.
denise15811 Tribscrewedme
Posted
HI,
This very comment tells me that you don't fully understand any of the PIP descriptors and what they mean. As i previously stated DLA is completely different to PIP and PIP is nothing to do with day or night time care needs. It's whether or not the descriptor applies to you 50% of the time.
Who actually helped you with the PIP claim? and the Tribunal process? I'm very concerned that the help you received also had no idea what PIP is all about.
You also say the the evidence was refused when you gave it to the doctor on the panel. Was the evidence gave on the day of the Tribunal or was is sent to arrive before the day of the hearing. This is extremely important.
denise15811
Posted
Is the PIP claim for yourself or someone else? I'm guessing it's for your partner? PIP also about the help you need, whether you receive that help or not. I really do feel like you have both not understand what PIP is all about.
Tribscrewedme denise15811
Posted
Hi Denise, again the evidence was already with the tribunal, but they said because it wasn't there for the original decision they can only look at the evidence that he gave them at the face 2 face. It was welfare rights who represented him on the day. And yes we obviously don't understand the criteria that is needed to meet the PIP assessment, we would be very grateful for any help you can offer. Denise please understand Michael and myself for that matter are very very upset and angry at the DWP for basically ignoring that Michael's health and needs have changed drastically since he was first awarded DLA, and again any help from you or anyone else is more than welcome.
denise15811 Tribscrewedme
Posted
It really does seem like you have be very wrongly advised here. Shame on welfare rights for advising you this way. Honestly, it's shameful!
I can't post links here so i'm going to private message you some links. Please look through those links and don't start another PIP application until you've at least done some research to gain some knowledge about what PIP is all about. I'll help you all i can but internet based and i don't have great health myself right now, there's only so much i can do but i'll gladly help you gain some knowledge and point you both in the right direction.
I'll send you some links very soon.
Tribscrewedme denise15811
Posted
Denise your right about welfare rights, the person who met him at the tribunal was the first time they had met each other. I suppose in hindsight which is a wonderful thing that should have been a warning sign in itself and he should have asked for another date to have someone get to know him, as it was the representative he got didn't actually say a word in the tribunal so there we go. Thanks for your reply's and other help you are willing to give you are a gem.
AlexandriaGizmo Tribscrewedme
Posted
Hi I'm not going to advise you regarding PIP or the tribunal because Denise has already done that and theirs no-one better on here to do that, what I will say is if social services have offered you daily assistance then if I was in your position I would except it straight away, they may not cook for you but they will help with personal care and if you have ready meals to hand and a microwave they will at least put hot food Infront of you, they will do sandwiches for your tea as well or in the morning you could have cereal and they could do the sandwiches for your lunch and hot meal for evening, also you can have hospital transport to get you to your appointments, how where you managing before your loss of benefits to feed yourself and get to hospital etc
Tribscrewedme AlexandriaGizmo
Posted
Hi Alexandria, sorry i am actually writing this for Michael I was his main care giver. yes the help he was offered bye the health care team was only to enable him to do things for himself, but that isn't what he needs, he needs someone to make sure he takes the vast number of tablets he has been prescribed each morning and evening, prepare meals for him either ready made or then and there, encourage him to get washed shaved and clean clothing which he needs actual physical help with. He also needs someone to take control of his finances and utility bills as he forgets what needs doing from one minute to the next. I was working part time but have had to start working full time after he was refused the DLA to PIP transfer, he needs special care especially on an evening through the night he has really bad night terrors and becomes incontinent, that is upsetting in itself for anyone to have to deal with let alone to be on his own with no one there to help him. I do my best for him but have a daughter that needs me and I need to earn a living to support her. He has asked for support for his mental health but is and has been passed from pillar to post by every service he has tried over the past few years, I stay with him as often as I can or I try to bring him to my home but his night terrors are terrifying for me and especially my daughter, we are at our wits end and he is becoming even more reserved and distant to the point I'm calling his phone every 30 minutes to ensure he hasn't hurt himself or tried to do something stupid like suicide, he did state yesterday that is how he felt and was the only way out for him.
AlexandriaGizmo Tribscrewedme
Posted
Hi I think that if I'm honest and he is threatening suicide you need to contact social services ASAP and have him assessed, secondly if he is requiring full time care as you say again this will be down to social services who will arrange for more care if they feel it's nescassarry, no matter if he was granted PIP full on care it would not be adequate to pay for that volume of care for him.
Can I ask what evidence you originally sent in with his PIP forms, I know you said you had extra which you gave in at tribunal, what was it.
I know you probably consider it a pain that we ask so many questions but it's the only way we have of giving you a good response