PIP tribunal any advice?

Wow, that is quick Julie,

It is not legal for you to record the tribunal hearing, but they will make a recording, and you can request a copy of this if you wish. So one less thing to worry about!

My best advice, other than to reread our guides, is to make a list of the points you want to make sure they have heard. I always do this with a tribunal hearing and tick them off as they are covered. When the panel think they have heard everything they need to make a decision, they will give you an opportunity to say anything else you wish to – this is the time to bring up anything which you have not ticked off.

The other key thing is to be yourself. If you are struggling with the effects of your condition tell them that you need a minute to change your position, or a toilet break etc. It is only human nature to try to present ourselves in the best possible light – but in this scenario you should not go so far that the you that they see is not the real you. I know a number of people who have taken double medication to make sure that they are symptom free, but that nearly always sadly backfires.

I wish you success in getting the correct award,
Catherine

Hi Julie,
To go back to what happens at the tribunal, make sure you have a copy if the appeal papers in front if you, as the tribunal may refer to this. There will be a doctor on the panel who will probably know about the effects of all if your medical problems, unless very rare. This is why there a doctor on the panel. He can advise the other tribunal members if necessary. Therefore it may not be necessary for you to have to explain every medical detail.
If for any reason the hearing does seem to be taking a long time, then it may be appropriate for you to ask for an adjournment, or the tribunal may suggest this themselves.
I assume that this is a phone hearing. Catherine said to be yourself - this is very important. I would like to expand on this point a little. Unlike a hearing on a room altogether, phone hearings do have limitations. No one will necessarily know how you are feeling during the hearing, whether you are uncomfortable or struggling- things that would be easily spotted when everyone is in the same room. It is somewhat artificial, but if something happens, you feel uncomfortable, you're struggling to remember etc etc then you have to say this, to make the tribunal aware. Maybe you have a friend or relative to be with you. This person can make notes, potentially give evidence about your disabilities and their effect, if known, as well as monitoring your progress during the hearing and being proactive to ensure you can cope and participate.
When answering questions, take a small moment to process the question, make sure you understand the question. Say if you don't. If you don't know the answer, or can't remember also say so. It is easy to think you have to answer the question, and make something up. This doesn't help, as it is likely to be confusing and is probably wrong! The tribunal will be interested in the time around the decision. Strictly speaking they should look at 3 months before and 9 mths after. (Especially for a new PIP
claim.) Although it seems your hearing has come up quite quickly so those dates may not be so relevant. So think of hiw you health was around the decision time. If things are much the same as now, then if the tribunal asks about a typical day you could describe what happens now as a general indication of what problems you have.
I hope this helps. Good luck!
LL26

Hi Julie

In principle, it should be no different from a face to face appeal, there should still be three members on the panel although it is possible that there will be less. The questioning will still be about your limitations in regard to the PIP activities.

Some practical advice;

- have a glass or better still a jug of water available
- make sure you are seated in a comfortable chair, you are going to be there a while
- create a bullet list of any issues you want to be covered
- have the papers available, so you will need to be sitting at a table or similar, if you need to refer to a particular document then do so using the handwritten number usually in the right-hand top corner
- pen and paper in case you need to make notes
- if you can't hear or understand what is being asked then ask them to repeat the question
- you cannot record the hearing even for personal purposes

Gary