Pip tribunal decision

jchan123

Hi All, 

I'm pretty new to this whole pip thing. I applied in may 2023 to pip as I have a tear in my vertebrae. I also suffer with anxiety and depression as well as hypertension. I was refused pip after mandatory consideration after scoring 0 and then I took it to tribunal where the panel only awarded me 6 points. My back stops me from working full time as I am in agony and awaiting to speak to a specialist, my hypertension is caused by my back pain which I have to take pills for. As a result of this I am also on anti depressants to treat my psychological symptoms. I have been hospitalised before due to my blood pressure and my pain levels. The tear is my back is an unhealed injury which I tried to seek help for as I've had pain for years however After several X rays and no indication of a tear I was sent for an MRI scan which picked up the tear and the damage to the surrounding area. I also went to the doctor's several times for my anxiety and depression and they refused to help me stating I should just exercise eat well and try and be happy. It was only after I made a call to a mental health team from suffering from a breakdown that I was able to go on anti depressants. At the tribunal I was grilled quite hard there was also a total of 6 people in the room which caused me to become extremely overwhelmed and start panicking so I wasn't able to articulate my points across I explained to them that I had bad social anxiety. I also explained that many points on the assesment were incorrect. I do work part time as that is all I can manage my job is pretty easy it involves no manual labour and I am allowed to take breaks as and when needed. I felt the judge to be quite harsh and I felt the questioning was quite condescending and patronising which put me on edge quite a lot. Although I haven't received a letter yet I was able to check the status of my tribunal online which was refused as my points did not meet the minimum threshold. I have rang PIP who told me that they have not received the final desicion letter which I found odd. Does anyone know what I should do. this whole process has been completely dehumanising and I felt as if nobody believed me. Any advice would be greatly appreciated thanks in advance 

poppy123456

I'm sorry to hear this. You can request the Statement of Reasons and Record of Proceedings within 1 month of the date of the decision. Once you receive those you will need to find someone to take a look to see if an error of law can be found.

You can't just appeal a Tribunal decision because you think it's wrong. If no error in law is found you won't be able to take it any further.

PIP isn't awarded based on any diagnosis. The same as it's not awarded based on your ability to work. You can start a new claim but i'd advise you to get some expert advice before proceeding any further. Starting a new claim using the same evidence you previously used could see another refusal.

This link will help you find an advice agency local to you. https://advicelocal.uk/welfare-benefits

Rosie_Scope

Hi @jchan123, sorry this has happened to you, it sounds like you've been through a lot. As you say, it can be a really dehumanising process and it's not an easy thing to cope with. I can see Poppy has already given some advice, but I wanted to pop in to offer some support and say welcome to the community. 

The link Poppy's posted above is a good shout, hopefully someone can help advise you on what to try next. I hope things start getting better for you soon