ESA Appeal

I attended an ESA Appeal in support of a friend who suffers from severe depression he was awarded 18 points and put in the WRAG group the doctor on the panel was terrible and it was more of an interigation to be honest my friend was terrified and this has made him feel more suicidal is there anyway I can find out what the doctor specialises in or can I complain about the way he conducted himself

jill wrote: I attended an ESA Appeal in support of a friend who suffers from severe depression he was awarded 18 points and put in the WRAG group the doctor on the panel was terrible and it was more of an interigation to be honest my friend was terrified and this has made him feel more suicidal is there anyway I can find out what the doctor specialises in or can I complain about the way he conducted himself

Hi j,

Welcome to Benefits and Work

I am sorry that your friend was unlucky enough to face an "overzealous" medical member of the panel !!!

You can find information on complaining about a Tribunal panel member from this link :

Complaining to the Tribunal Service

I assume that your friend is satisfied with The WRAG award, and is not contemplating challenging that decision which is a totally separate procedure ??

bro58

my friend is so upset with the decision and wondered what to do next his adviser told him he could appeal but she also said she wouldn't advise him to I feel he should appeal the decision and make a complaint

Your friend cannot appeal just because he does not agree with the decision, only if he can find an Error in Law. The first step would be to request a Statement of reasons from the Tribunal Service, this must be done within 1 month of the date on the decision letter. The DWP would also get a copy of this and would also be able to appeal the decision if they can also claim an Error of Law.

Tribunals – Requesting a Statement of Reasons

What is an Error of Law?

As your friend appears to have a welfare advisor, this person should be best placed to help with this.