Has anybody had PIP declined because the assessor has told blatant lies and ignored medical evidence — Scope | Disability forum
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Has anybody had PIP declined because the assessor has told blatant lies and ignored medical evidence

jenniB
jenniB Community member Posts: 14 Connected
edited March 2019 in PIP, DLA, and AA
Has anybody had PIP declined because the assessor has told blatant lies and ignored medical evidence 

Comments

  • Bevvy7andover
    Bevvy7andover Community member Posts: 38 Connected
    Me!! Lost my car now have to face tribunal
  • twonker
    twonker Posts: 617 Pioneering
    It all depends on what you class as 'medical' evidence.

    I could submit decades of medical information about my issues but none of it will suffice for PIP.
  • aantoniou
    aantoniou Community member Posts: 3 Listener
    My mum was declined PIP and the assessor definitely lied, didnt take any account of what my mum said. Ive written letters of complaint, and will be looking into furher steps of complaint (ICE)
  • leefren
    leefren Community member Posts: 21 Listener
    I think this will be a big discussion 
  • jenniB
    jenniB Community member Posts: 14 Connected
    I have provided unequivocally through MRI imaging reports that I have 3 areas of disabilities from my Neck to Coccyx which are SPECIFIED conditions in the DWP BLUE BOOK,
    my GP & spine surgeon backed this up in writing
    I worked for my local Government in Overpaid Housing Benefits & Fraud Dept for 20 years- 
    I know how this system works and is designed to beat you down- 
    this is not about the benefit now, it’s about exposing The Assessments as worthless
    there is no integrity by The DWP-
    I will do my very best to fight this for all my disabled brothers & Sisters out there-
    we all deserve honesty integrity 
    dignity and respect 

  • twonker
    twonker Posts: 617 Pioneering
    jenniB said:
    I have provided unequivocally through MRI imaging reports that I have 3 areas of disabilities from my Neck to Coccyx which are SPECIFIED conditions in the DWP BLUE BOOK,
    my GP & spine surgeon backed this up in writing
    I worked for my local Government in Overpaid Housing Benefits & Fraud Dept for 20 years- 
    I know how this system works and is designed to beat you down- 
    this is not about the benefit now, it’s about exposing The Assessments as worthless
    there is no integrity by The DWP-
    I will do my very best to fight this for all my disabled brothers & Sisters out there-
    we all deserve honesty integrity 
    dignity and respect 

    I could have years of reports telling me that I have a mental age of a 5 year old and a brain tumour, yet none of that will help with PIP. You have to spell out how it affects your life (impact) which then fits neatly with the PIP descriptors. 

    I can't do ……. because my condition...…….and the times that I have tried to do...…….I ………….
  • ladygonegaga
    ladygonegaga Community member Posts: 11 Courageous
    edited March 2019
    Me my car is going in 2 weeks, I am also going to tribunal. This is making me really ill, all the stress. It seems that if your not a good story teller and just send them the evidence from the professionals you loose.. I'm never going to get any better, I have MS, Fibromyalgia, high blood preasure, I have panic attacks and anxiety, I have cognitive issues, problems expressing myself, I am ill, I am not a Authour. 

  • wildlife
    wildlife Community member Posts: 1,293 Pioneering
    Again this is another thread about lies on assessment reports with people telling us it's not about the diagnosed conditions but how they affect your life. We know !!!!! But for most of us our medical evidence is the strongest we have to prove we have a disability. It's then up to the assessor to read, understand, listen to the claimant and assess how these conditions would affect their lives. They're trained to do that but day after day more posts are appearing about information they're told being changed and other things being made up to suit the result the bad assessors want to end up with. Give us a break, read and listen to what posters are saying is happening. Doctors haven't time to write letters about how conditions affect people that is what the assessment questions are for which is why most posters complain their disabilities are not believed. Accepting these conditions exist is the basis for writing a factual, honest report for the DWP to award benefit. Without this basic acceptance when evidence is given to them they can then produce their flawed, dishonest reports that are causing so much damage to already sick, vulnerable people. People who often haven't got the strength to fight back. 
  • wilko
    wilko Community member Posts: 2,458 Disability Gamechanger
    Hello everyone, medical evidence, diagnosis lists of medications and illnesses are all very well but at the end of the day the PIP F2F is about how your illnesses and disability effects your daily living activities in relation to the PIP descriptors, it’s no good moaning about the DWP who grant the award rightly or wrongly the decision maker is setting the award after reading the acessment report and  has no idea if the information in your acessment report is accurate, false or just made up from the impression and information given presented at the acessment. Having your medical notes to hand will and does comfirm your abilities. So having gained acess to my PIP Infomation held by DWP I have seen that because I drive a manual car that I must have good dexterity in my hands and feet/ legs  and mental abilities for concentration and abilities to follow and plan a journey. These remarks and comments where not shown in my requested acessment report but from screen shots of the acessment process.
  • jenniB
    jenniB Community member Posts: 14 Connected
    I put how my disabilities affect my daily life quite specifically
    in great detail on my application and during the assessment.
    after requesting a mandatory reconsideration 
    my GP & Spinal Surgeon confirmed 
    I have 3 major & serious areas in my spine causing severe disabilities & that quite frankly he was oustounded by the inaccuracies in the report.
    so severe that I should be in a wheelchair let alone stand !!
    i have Zero quality of life 
    unable to use my arms/ fingers
    my legs go numb and I cannot walk more than 20meters
    i cannot sit down for more than 10 minutes without having to get up and walk the exact pain off. Pacing up and down in agony.
    i never sleep more than 2 hours without being woken in discomfort and pain
    i made it clear I felt suicidal at times & provided written documentation from my pain management Team.
    and various other sources.
    what more do you have to do
    BEG ?

  • twonker
    twonker Posts: 617 Pioneering
    wildlife said:
    Again this is another thread about lies on assessment reports with people telling us it's not about the diagnosed conditions but how they affect your life. We know !!!!! But for most of us our medical evidence is the strongest we have to prove we have a disability. It's then up to the assessor to read, understand, listen to the claimant and assess how these conditions would affect their lives. They're trained to do that but day after day more posts are appearing about information they're told being changed and other things being made up to suit the result the bad assessors want to end up with. Give us a break, read and listen to what posters are saying is happening. Doctors haven't time to write letters about how conditions affect people that is what the assessment questions are for which is why most posters complain their disabilities are not believed. Accepting these conditions exist is the basis for writing a factual, honest report for the DWP to award benefit. Without this basic acceptance when evidence is given to them they can then produce their flawed, dishonest reports that are causing so much damage to already sick, vulnerable people. People who often haven't got the strength to fight back. 
    You seriously cannot expect the assessor to look at a pile of medical records that detail the condition and how it is being treated to understand which particular descriptors the claimant is claiming for?
    They need something to look at and then ask questions based on your claim. It is the responsibility of the claimant to complete the PIP2 form giving full details of the impact of those conditions, describing how it affects them, what has happened when you tried to carry out those descriptors and finally get some good evidence that backs up the impact and not the condition itself. Help the assessor to help you.
  • jenniB
    jenniB Community member Posts: 14 Connected
    When I say I walk around, I pace between my kitchen units leaning on them for support 
    as My feet go ice cold and legs get pins & needles in them.
    and feel impaled to a metal fence on fire if I sit for more than Ten minutes.
    I have demonstrated the impact on my abilities to perform daily chores 
    even to bathe is torture.
    yes My GP and spinal Team explained the severe distress I am experiencing as my treatments are very fragmented, The 3rd Spinal Surgeon has stated I am one of the most COMPLEX cases he has faced, The FIRST patient ever who could not sit down during our consultation.
    He has referred me to another surgeon for advice  on where to begin !!!
    My treatments have to be applied for funding
    despite being an emergency case.
    My GP is fighting many battles on my behalf & my MP is now involved-
    I am losing weight and wasting away. 
    I have rapidly become a very old person with my skin looking like that of an 80yr old through lack of muscle tone-
    i can’t even open a bottle of milk- 
    I truly have described in great detail how My life has been turned into a living painful nightmare by one by one losing the ability to look after myself. I need help washing/ bathing
    i cannot cook etc.
    I live on Morphine ( take half the prescribed dose, it gives me severe headache & many other side effects )
    oh believe it, I have been brutally honest in describing how My life is non existent and I am solitary confined to our home daily, I am blessed with an amazing husband who keeps me going, and who gives me the strength to fight on each day.
    To be free of excruciating pain would be a miracle 

  • wildlife
    wildlife Community member Posts: 1,293 Pioneering
    @jenniB Not only did you have an assessor who was prepared to lie you now have to justify your OP to other posters determined to criticize and prove you wrong which you shouldn't have to do. 
    @ilivecats First things first. Assessors do lie. There have been so many cases on here, in the news, in court and looking at the huge amount of complaints no-one can say it doesn't happen. It happened to me. Walking limitations need to be assessed on the amount of pain, numbness and/or weakness experienced by the person being assessed. I too have the symptoms described by the OP and you can't just sit or lie down 24/7 so you can convince a PIP assessor you can't move around as this makes the symptoms much worse. When @jenniB says she cannot stand she means without pain. Just because she gets up and moves around doesn't prove she can do it without pain. No wonder the NHS is in such a mess when Doctors are expected to put in writing extra information about the limitations of movement the conditions they're diagnosing and treating have on the patient's everyday life. How do they know anyway without moving in with them for a week.
              When I asked for an OT assessment I was sent a dragon from the office who is not an OT due to staff shortages. I also have severe mental health problems but due to lack of funding I only have care from my GP so looking for specialist input does not mean there are no mental health issues to assess.  
    @twanker Yes I do expect the assessor to look at a pile of medical records of conditions and how they are treated that's what they're paid a ridiculous amount of money to do. They should then believe what they are reading from Doctors and assess the reasonable impact the condition would have on daily life using all available info, claim form, meeting the person and their training and medical knowledge. Many disabled people are not able to fill in the claim form as you describe and not able to find someone to help them. My son couldn't do it if he didn't have me and his Dad to help. Please tell me where does the evidence come from to back up the impact of the condition on daily life?  
  • wildlife
    wildlife Community member Posts: 1,293 Pioneering
    edited March 2019
    @ilovecats Well I'm glad someone reads the medical evidence. Yes I know claimants lie too and that you do have genuine knowledge and insight and I'm sure you were a good assessor but others are not. I've also given examples of outright lies in my other posts. I know the difference between a lie and something genuinely changed due to evidence being available to the contrary. I'll try and make this discussion more constructive. How do assessors come to the conclusion someone should remain in the support group if they have no medical or other evidence as to how there condition (undiagnosed) impacts their daily life. That's what a good assessor did a few weeks ago from seeing my son with his Father (carer).  What evidence can we get other than medical, OT, Physio that will satisfy the assessor that our lives are affected by our condition?   
  • cristobal
    cristobal Community member Posts: 984 Disability Gamechanger
    As many posters have mentioned it's important to make a distinction between a diagnosis, and how the diagnosis affects you on a day to day basis.

    Personally I found the CAB website very helpful - gives examples of the sort of thing to put for each of the descriptors. I also kept a diary for a week or two to help me complete the form.

    http://https//www.citizensadvice.org.uk/benefits/sick-or-disabled-people-and-carers/pip/help-with-your-claim/fill-in-form/
  • jenniB
    jenniB Community member Posts: 14 Connected
    Phew this has sparked a debate. My assessor has told blatant lies- saying I was observed to carry out various tests involving putting my arms above my head etc-
    I did NO SUCH THING.
    I have repeatedly provided unequivocal proof I cannot sit down & only just had Coccyx surgery, 
    Yet the Assessor concludes I can sit in the bath !!!
    I wish I could,  then bath time would not be a ten minute endurance test, being bathed by my husband whilst on all fours. Wincing in pain, 
    I broke down several times at my assessment. 
    I use to sleep at my daughters weekly to spend time with my grandkids, I can’t pick them up
    sit the baby on my lap. Take them to the park.
    it destroys me the pleasures I once enjoyed  are denied me
    its like looking at them through a window but not being able to have physical contact with them.
    i always spent days taking my grandkids out
    its taken over 60weeks to get 
    A day case, to sever 10 of my lumbar facet joint nerves 
    still waiting but due to get the nerve burn on April 11th.
    I need decompression surgery & fusion in my neck
    and decompression surgery In lumbar spine.
    lots of lumpy bits to be shaved off- prolapsed discs, chronic fusions, scoliosis 
    degenerative disc disease in ALL my spine & any discs not worn out totally are DRY !!
    Surgeons had meetings lasting weeks in 3 different hospitals.
    so complicated is the condition of my spine-
    I Had 12 spine injections including root nerve block May / July 2017
    and nothing since then because of funding complications 
    and treatments at 3 different hospitals involved 
    been on so many different drugs, it’s makes me violently sick, my stomach is ruined
    i have become a recluse & prisoner in my own home-
    however through these dark days
    i learnt how to defuse the pain tension in my body by painting
    I studied Art for many years, as I cannot sit down nor walk 
    I paint standing up.
    its good therapy, and ??
    My right hand is more stable than my left, being right handed is a blessing that there is some light relief in that I can get lost with my imagination 
    I have painted abstract images of what My nerves look like in pain surrounded by red hot inflammation.
    a volcano of heat with molten lava in my veins lol ? 




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