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Hi, my name is brenthedread!

brenthedread

HI my name is Randolph I signed on with uc jan2017 and have not been able to work since because of a condition called myelopathy I had to have a major operation in April 2017 to stop from being paralyzed from the neck down my nerves were trapped between a muscle and a disc I was told it could take up to 3 years for my body to recover if it ever does I have pins and needles 24/7 I am on coordinate for the pain
In my arm which is also 24/7 my left leg shakes and will sometimes give way I cannot walk as normal people do if bumped I will 99 out of 100 times fall over I cannot run or jump due to my nerves some are dead and some are trapped this is just a few of my problems anyhow I applied for pip last March was refused twice and now waiting for a hearing with the help of the welfare dept I have now been informed by uc that their doctor who saw me in September 2017 says I'm fit to go back to work. Can somebody please tell me how a doctor who knows next to nothing about my illness tell me what my body can and cannot do I have seen 3 different people from uc and not 1 of them has dealt with or knows of my condition yet somehow they can tell me that I am fit for work don't get me wrong I've done hard labour most of my life which contributed to my illness how can a doctor override a orthopedic surgeon who is a specialist if anyone has any advice it would be appreciated

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Comments

steve51

Hi @brenthedread

A very very good morning to you.

I’m very sorry to hear about your current situation.

Yes yes I can help you with this.

We have got a number of tools which should be helpful.

1. Lots of info to hand !!!!
2. My svs/help/support!!!!
3. We have got a number off Benefit Advisor’s!!!!!!

Please please let me know how you feel????

BenefitsTrainingCo

Hi brenthedread,

The decisions of the medical providers are so often very poor and go against what your own doctor says, and it goes against logic that they know more about your condition and its effects on your daily functioning than your doctor or consultant who may have been treating you for many years.
If you have a Welfare Rights department helping you then it sounds as though you are getting all the help you need. As long as you have provided some medical evidence and explained how it relates to the PIP descriptors your appeal hearing should go well. You don't have to have medical evidence but it's better if you have. Good luck with it!

Lee

Geoark

@brenthedread when you saw the doctor in September 2017 was this for the work capability assessment? I am assuming that as you were not fit to work you would have been moved to ESA, as this is the benefit for those unable to work. If so you would have been seen by a 'health professional', and it is extremely unlikely to have been a doctor, or not one who is registered to work in the UK.

If a doctor makes a false statement and a complaint is upheld they can be struck off the medical register, unlike many other health professionals.

You need to request a mandatory review and if necessary use the appeal route, just as with PIP. You can find the descriptors used for the WCA at https://www.sense.org.uk/get-support/information-and-advice/welfare-benefits/esa/esa-descriptors/

I would suggest talking to the people who are supporting you with your pip claim about this.

BenefitsTrainingCo

brenthedread,

Hi Randolph,

Unfortunately, if you are living in a 'full service' area, UC is the benefit for people who are not able to work, although if you previously worked and paid national insurance contributions, sometimes you can get contributory ESA instead, or in addition to UC. The WCA (work capability assessment) which Geoark mentions applies to both ESA & UC, where someone starts off submitting sick notes and then has the assessment.

The decision you've got is, like you say, a decision that you are fit for work - also known as a decision that you do not have limited capability for work.

You can challenge the decision by first asking for a mandatory reconsideration and then appealing if necessary. Your welfare department can help you with this, and can also tell you if you are in a 'full service' area. Even if you are not in a 'full service' area, I think you would struggle to go back to the old ESA benefit (outside the UC system) now, because you have a recent negative decision about your limited capability for work. But it may be possible for you to do this, outside the 'full service', if you have got worse, so do ask your welfare department about this. Or, you could be in the 'full service' and have got worse to the extent that it is worth asking for another assessment.

Unfortunately it's not unusual for people to get bad decisions in PIP and also have a bad decision about their limited capability for work, as you have. The assessments are very poor and the decision making often flawed. So don't give up and do challenge this decision. Tribunals often come to different conclusions.

The importance of having limited capability for work in UC is that it would mean you wouldn't have to look for work. At the moment, you are deemed fit for work in UC and so I'd also suggest talking to your welfare dept about getting a sick note, so you can have your work search requirement in UC suspended. You'd need to talk to your work coach about this and explain that you are challenging the limited capability for work decision and you can't look for work.

Unfortunately if you've already had your work search requirement (having to look for work) suspended because of a sick note, your work coach may not want to do it again. If you have problems, get advice from your welfare department and consider complaining. It's important to try to get the requirements of UC made reasonable for you, so that you are not sanctioned (when you could lose most of your benefit).

Will

brenthedread

I saw a doctor who had very little knowledge about my illness he also twisted my words ex. I told him it normally would take 2-3 min to walk to shops now it can take up to 5-10 he wrote it takes 2-3 min, he told me to stop anytime I was uncomfortable doing anything I told him we wouldn't get anything done because most movements cause me pain he wrote I was comfortable doing the things I was asked to do a lie when I asked him about my illness he tried to change the subject as he only knew the basics of it.The whole process of accessing if people are disabled being done by the dwp is a sham it's disgraceful.

BenefitsTrainingCo

Couldn't agree more @brenthedread !

When you read a lot of the reports it is really clear how standardised they all are, and they hardly ever give an accurate picture of the difficulties claimants experience (in fact virtually never).

I would just like to echo Will's sound advice above - get challenging the decision!