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MY PIP CLAIM .......

SUEW44

Hi, I've been on DLA higher rate both sections for many years. Recently claimed for PIP and have been awarded standard rate in both, well barely awarded at all, all were awarded at 2 ! I have applied for MR, and that has come back as no change, still standard. I will be appealing, how is the best way to appeal? I have severe scoliosis of the spine, 3 nerves trapped one side, 2 the other. Heart attack 2000, major surgery December 2015, bifemerol aortic bypass, have felt really unwell since. Was pending a hospital appointment when claim was going through for umbilical hernia. Have been for appointment, and I have an incisional hernia caused by tissue damaged by the surgeon, inoperable as too dangerous. So I am now severely disabled, can barely walk, have a wheelchair. The assessor basically lied about all my points, I can barely walk 10 metres, let alone attempt 50 metres. Need help dressing, bathing, and can not stand long enough without severe pain to cook. I cannot believe I am having to all but beg for benefit, I am so upset.

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Comments

CockneyRebel

Hi Sue and welcome

Unfortunately yours is not an unfamiliar occurance.
There is plenty of info on this site about appeals, so have a good look.

Did you/ have you requested a copy of the assessment report ?
To enter an appeal to the tribunal you will need form SSCS1. this should be sent within a month or your MR letter date. You do not need to present your case at this stage , just your basic reasons for your appeal.

Appeals are not hard to do, you have already done all the hard work in collecting your evidence. Now it is a matter of presenting it in an "idiot proof" way

Please come back if we can be of any further help

CR

BenefitsTrainingCo

Hi SUEW44,

Please make sure you send any written evidence about your condition and how it affects you with the SSCS1 form. You may benefit from contacting your local Welfare Rights Team as they may be able to represent you at the appeal. Also, your chances of winning your appeal are much greater if you can attend it, so please indicate that you want to attend if you are physically able to. Good luck!

Lee

CockneyRebel

BenefitsTrainingCo said:

Hi SUEW44,

Please make sure you send any written evidence about your condition and how it affects you with the SSCS1 form. You may benefit from contacting your local Welfare Rights Team as they may be able to represent you at the appeal. Also, your chances of winning your appeal are much greater if you can attend it, so please indicate that you want to attend if you are physically able to. Good luck!

Lee

Hi Lee
By the time people get to the appeal stage, all of their evidence should have been submitted. This will be available to check when they receive the bundle. If evidence is missing from the bundle then this adds weight to the appeal. If for some reason the claimant has not been able to obtain all the relevant evidence before MR then it should be added to the submission BUT there is no point in trying to find further evidence, this will just add padding to the appeal and muddy the waters.
I have found that most claimants have submitted plenty of good evidence but it is the presentation that is the downfall. If the relevant facts are hidden, in the equivelent of war and peace, it makes it hard for anyone to find it.
Make all submissions idiot proof. Make it easy for the reader to find and see the facts
I do agree that assistance should be sought from trained advisers when ever possible but this is becoming hard due to the number of people fighting the injustice of the system.
Definately claimants should attend if possible, provided that it does not conflict with the reasons for the claim. For example, someone who is claiming that they suffer from agrophobia would damage their claim by attending.
Claimants should not be put off appealing because they cannot attend, there is nothing to lose if the only option is to have a PB hearing

CR

Matilda

Appellants can send the Tribunal additional evidence up until seven days before the Hearing (and even a brief item on the day would be permissible). After receipt of my bundle, I sent the Tribunal a few additional items of evidence from time to time over the next five months. I won my appeal.

My advice would be, if you are not sure whether to send the Tribunal an additional item of evidence, send it anyway.

CockneyRebel

As Matilda says, you can send evidence up to a week before the hearing. So if you are having to wait on a letter from specialist for example this is good but make sure anything you send is relevant. The tribunal are only interested in how your functionaliy is affected by your condition. They also will not consider any evidence that is not related to the time of your claim, any new conditions will not be considered

CR

BenefitsTrainingCo

SUEW44,

You've been given good advice on here. I recommend getting a copy of the assessor's report if you haven't already, and explain to the tribunal where it is incorrect, what points you think you should have got, and why (using medical evidence if you have it, or examples from your everyday life).

You could consider complaining about the assessment too, to the assessment company. This shows you don't accept their report, but it isn't absolutely essential. The tribunal will have come across flawed assessments before.

If you prepare a submission (an argument about what you think you should be awarded) to the tribunal, then as CR suggests, make it logical and easy to follow. First a quick chronological summary of what happened with dates made as clear as possible. Then go through all the points you think you should have got, what the assessor said, why that's wrong, and what evidence you have for the points.

If you haven't already thought about your points (I expect you have) you can use the PIP self-test.

As CR says you need evidence that relates to the time of the decision you are appealing against. Old evidence could still be relevant if you have a condition which doesn't get better (or could only get worse). New evidence may be less relevant but it depends what has happened since the decision - and evidence you obtain now can still relate to the date of the decision. It's fact dependent. There will be a medical panel member but you can't guarantee they will know about your condition(s).

Thinking about your hospital appointment, if I've understood it correctly that evidence is relevant to the date of your decision because you had the hernia all along, from before you claimed, and now you have more information about it and how it affects you. Remember, it's all about how it affects the activities - it's not about what conditions you have, but how they make it difficult for you to mobilise, dress, bathe etc.

Good luck!

Will