Tribunal

Breacon

Morning All,

I have received what I think is the tribunal bundle, I'm not quite sure, what it's all for, is this for my attention & what DWP have/will send to the Tribunal.

I have asked family to write a letter outlining their support etc, do I just send this in, with cover, tribunal case no, attached.

Do I send a copy of my medication etc, 

It made very interesting reading, especially my work capability assessment, which was full of inaccuracies, I would like that corrected, if I am able too.
It states, that I do not take any medication, due to the side effects, this is not the case, although side effects arnt good.

I do not have a downstairs toilet, as stated.

It goes on & on, my advice to anyone, would be to have your assessment taped, I wish I had.

It all appears, that you are not telling the truth, especially with all the inaccuracies.
I assume the Tribunal has a copy of this, so I would like to point out, the mistakes & send that, to the tribunal.

If anyone can advice, I would be very grateful, I'm paddling in the dark here, couldn't get an app with CAB to help me.

The stress continues, I'm over whelmed already.....

Many thanks, for any help in advance.

poppy123456

Is this for a PIP claim? If so then you mentioned the "work capability assessment" which is nothing to do with PIP, this would be related to UC and ESA.

The bundle should include everything you sent, including the PIP2 form you originally filled in, any extra evidence you sent, the assessment report that was written by the health assessment providers. You need to go through everything in there to make sure what you sent is included with the bundle. Yes, HMCTS will have a copy of everything too.

It's ok to point out a couple of obvious errors but then you should put the report to one side because concentrating on this will not get you a PIP award.

It's very unlikely that the assessment report will be corrected. This is because it's only their opinion, which will be based on everything you wrote in the form, all the evidence you sent and everything you said during the assessment. The assessment is now in the past and you need to try to forget about it and move on.

If you've already sent information about any medication you take then there's no need to send it again.

Letters from someone that knows you well is ok but make sure they include the descriptors that apply to you.

Don't forget about those real world examples that were advised on your other threads. A couple of examples of exactly what happened the last time you attempted each descriptor that applies to you. Don't forget also that they will not take into consideration any worsening of condition.

Breacon

Thank you so much Poppy, I thought you would reliably respond.
Yes I understand what your saying.
In terms of family support etc.
In the bundle was my LCW assessment, it states I no longer take pain medication etc etc, I don't want to be accused of been a liar again, I find that deeply offensive.
Due to the inaccuracies I'm worried they will, obviously DWP have a copy of the LCW assessment, & the tribunal may think it a little odd, that I no longer take pain relief, which of course is not true.
So if I include family letters, a personal statement from me, Gp letter, medical info from Rhumatolgy. 
Do I just keep all this other information that they've sent me.
I believe I can contact the tribunal people, for guidance also.?
Thank you so much Poppy.

poppy123456

GP letters are never the best evidence to send because they don't spend any time with you to know how your manage activities related to the PIP descriptors. They will only be able to give information about diagnosis, medication etc etc. A diagnosis is often not in question anyway because it's not about a diagnosis.

Breacon said:

 medical info from Rhumatolgy. 

If you mean leaflets then no, they are not classed as evidence.

For your medication, all you need to do is send a repeat prescription list. HMCTS already know that some assessment reports are flawed and they don't need to be reminded of that. Concentrate on where and why you think you should have scored those points.

You need to keep the bundle because you will need that with you during the hearing.

apples

Just my 2 pence worth, when I recently had my pip tribunal and the answers in my MR and what I was asked during the tribunal contradicted the assessment I explained that I may have been misunderstood as the assessment has many inaccuracies but they didn’t want to know or ask any questions regarding thus

it may have been just my tribunal and yours / someone else’s maybe different 

also I was asked by the judge if I had the bundle and told her it was next to me I was told to keep it to the side incase they wanted me to refer to it however not once did they ask me to

Breacon

Thank you Apples for that good knowledge, I will bare that in mind.
Was it as awful as you thought it might be, I envisage I will have brain fog, & I will be/feeling sooo stressed, I'm worried il get into a muddle.
I'm terrified at the thought, I feel quite nauseous at the mere thought, I understand it can take quite some time, to even get to tribunal, so your left with the constant worry, until its over.
Do I need to rush, in terms of getting supporting evidence sent back to them.
Many thanks in advance.

apples

Hi Breacon

i read on here from many that said there tribunal wasn’t as bad as they had thought it would be etc, but mine seemed to be bad (it could be my MH making it worse) 

Mine wasn’t helped by connection issues so had to keep repeating what I was saying, then told to turn my camera off to see if that helped but it didn’t.

I was asked why I don’t get a job even though I find it hard to leave the house and then the contradiction with the assessment and what I was saying during the tribunal and what I wrote in the MR 

I applied for tribunal in Sept / Oct 22 and went to tribunal in April this year so not that long await

dont worry about getting into a muddle the panel will tell you to take your time they are patient and will give you the time you need, I’ve also read on here you can refer to the bundle to refresh yourself although I was told to keep mine to one side and if needed they will ask me to refer to page numbers within, but they never

i think once you have a tribunal date you have 14 days to submit any evidence so that it can be sent to the DWP in time, my tribunal date letter said 14 and later on 7 days so I’d go with the 14 just to make sure they have enough time to read it.

I sent them way before I even had a tribunal date a hand written letter of 2 real life situations how I struggle when I am out so was asked questions about one of the situations which was easy for me to answer as I’d lived it

i was still awarded pip so it was worth doing so don’t let my experience put you off I think without the connection issues it wouldn’t have been as bad as that was starting my anxiety off

Breacon

Thank you Apples,

That's a great explanation, I have an idea what to expect now, it's reassuring to know, they give you time to answer etc.

I think I'm just going to send my evidence ASAP, then it's not playing on my mind.

I can understand your anxiety levels going through the roof, re connection problems, my god, you don't need those issues on Tribunal day, 

Thank you so much for your message, its reassuring for me.

I just wondered how many peoples MH is severely impacted due to our benefit system,  I feel strongly about the fact, how it all, can worsen your health & MH in general,
It certainly has had a negative effect on me, all round.
I'm sure there must be hundreds like me & you, The length of time it all takes is ridiculous.

It's certainly been a huge eye opener for me, now that I'm in the benefit system, 

I'm pleased you had a positive outcome, my concern & worry, is that at some point in future, you have to go through it all again with reviews etc etc, I'm finding it, a bit like ongoing  torture....

That advice about saying the assessor must have misunderstood, is very good, as I probably would have been quite vocal, re the errors & our broken system, so I now know, to keep it buttoned.

Thank you once again, for your support.

I will let everyone know, the outcome, when it happens etc.

Many thanks.

apples

@Breacon you’re welcome if anything you need to ask feel free

good luck with your tribunal