Only scored 1 point at tribunal, multiple health conditions

Bill1967

I was recently turned down for PIP after changing from DLA..I suffer from Fibro, Ostero, Heart Disease, Lung Disease, Sleep Apnia and an Underactive Thyrod..yet only scored 1 point at Tribunal.. I've now been waiting month's after requesting a statement of reason's.. Has anyone else had these problems ?

sandyp196

Yes lots of people. I'm sorry you are dealing with so much. You will get some help here to go forward with your claim. 

Bill1967

Thankyou..heads done in..going for injection's in both shoulder's in the morning..so am going to try and get some sleep now..but will definitely be back soon..been in so much pain and its bad enough having to live this way without these people messing about with your head..

Sam_Alumni

Hi @Bill1967
On a similar post, the benefits advisors said this:

The procedure to challenge a First Tier Tribunal decision is lengthy, and there are 4 stages. I have explained the first 2 stages in detail, and then given a brief explanation of stage 3 and 4.

Stage 1
When the DWP are thinking about challenging a tribunals decision they must first ask for full written reasons for the decision. The DWP must make this request within 1 month of the tribunal decision. 

Once the Tribunal have received this request the chair of the tribunal will provide a written statement to you and the DWP explaining why they awarded PIP.  In my experience it can take up to 12 weeks for the written statement to be sent out. 

Stage 2
Once the DWP have received the statement of reasons they then have to make a formal written request to the First Tier Tribunal stating why the tribunal who decided your partners appeal made an error of law in reaching their decision.  An error of law is for example that the have not adequately explained how they made their decision, or misunderstood the law.  This formal request is called permission to appeal, and must be made within 1 month of the date of the tribunals written statement of reasons. 

If the DWP believe that they have a case to argue, and request permission to appeal, you will be sent a copy of this request. A Tribunal Judge who was not involved with your appeal will then look at the request to see if permission to appeal should be granted. You will not be asked to attend another hearing for this issue to be considered.  

If permission to appeal is granted it is likely that your case will then proceed to the Upper Tribunal, if permission to appeal is not granted then the DWP will then have to ask the Upper Tribunal to look again at their request for permission to appeal. In my experience this second part of the procedure can take around 6 weeks. 

Stage 3
An Upper Tribunal will consider your case, and either decide that the First Tier Tribunal did make an error of law, or that the decision to award PIP is correct.  The Upper Tribunal generally considers cases on paper, which means that only in very rare cases will you be asked if you would like to attend the hearing. 

I would strongly advise you to seek advice from a local advice agency, Law Centre or CAB if your case does go to an Upper Tribunal. 

Stage 4
If an error of law was made by the tribunal, you will be asked to attend another PIP hearing so that another Tribunal can decide if you are entitled to PIP and at what rates (if awarded). 

If an error of law was not made by the tribunal then PIP are extremely likely to accept the decision and award PIP as decided by the tribunal. 

At these early stages you will not have much input, as ultimately it will be for the DWP to persuade a tribunal judge that there has been an error of law. It is only if the case proceeds to the Upper Tribunal, will you be asked for your opinion, and thus as advised above at this stage it is best to seek further advice.

Matilda

You can put in a new PIP claim at any time.  PIP is awarded not for medical conditions themselves but for how these affect your daily living and mobility.

Try to get some f2f help from CAB or similar.

Disability Rights UK site has a good guide to all stages of PIP.

lillybelle

Quicker and easier to start again
at least you have more knowledge this time around

Yadnad

lillybelle said:

Quicker and easier to start again
at least you have more knowledge this time around

That's not a sensible thing to do. Not only will you lose benefit for the time that you have been waiting but also the very recent face to face assessment report will still be available to the Decision Maker who could possibly decide again that you get no award.

If you are certain that you are entitled to a PIP award you would be wiser to ask for a MR and then if needed go to appeal.

What you must do if you have not done it already is look at your claim and re-work it to show which descriptors you fit and give reasons why.

mikehughescq

Bill1967 said:

I was recently turned down for PIP after changing from DLA..I suffer from Fibro, Ostero, Heart Disease, Lung Disease, Sleep Apnia and an Underactive Thyrod..yet only scored 1 point at Tribunal.. I've now been waiting month's after requesting a statement of reason's.. Has anyone else had these problems ?

Wholly agree with @Yadnad and the reasoning expressed. The one thing to NOT do in these circumstances is to start again. I would also add that people with multiple claims tend to do the same things and somehow expect a different outcome. I kind of admire the perseverence of people who constantly post that you can always make a new claim. Whilst it is technically true, it doesn’t matter how many times it gets posted, it is by and large very poor; often wholly wrong and potentially dangerous advice.

Whilst personal experience is hugely valuable it does not make lay advice correct and the concept of dangerous advice appears to evade people. Wrong advice can literally not just cost people money but could potentially permanently reduce their income on a permanent basis. 

In terms of your original post forget about the number of conditions you have. The focus of disability benefits is on the consequences of those conditions and their interactions. However, at this stage you’ve done what you need to and requested a statement of reasons. Did you also request the record of proceedings (the judge’s notes)? If not then you need to immediately. 

The length of time it takes to arrive is purely a function of how busy that specific judge is so hang tight and it will arrive. There’s nothing you can do to speed it up unless the delay becomes excessive, say three months or more. Whilst you’re waiting go and get yourself some face to face advice and a representative. If you are to take a case to UT then it will be on a point of law only and expert advice is needed on that. Almost all decisions contain an error of law but it still needs an adviser to identify them. 

Bill1967

Thank you everyone, have taken your advice on board and will certainly seek legal advice..phoned PIP today who assured me that the statement of reasons has been wrote up and is awaiting to be typed up by a typist..it will be then sent to the panel member who cuducted my appeal tribuneral and if they decide anything else needs added, it will then be sent back to a typist then forwarded to me..I do hope I get a proper chance to describe how my illness's affected my daily life..but for one of the reasons that I lost points is that I could talk to them directly..even though i cryed all the way through my face to face and my first tribuneral which was put back as the doctors notes wher'nt recieved in time..icmust add in my face to face i recieved 0 points and they said i was calm all the way through..and was able to make eye contact which was a lie..so i was determined to go to tribuneral to tell my storey..which because of nerves i didnt exactly get to do..i also suffer and am on medication for depression & Anxity which they said my doctors records showed no record off..how are you meant to win with these people ??