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DLA to PIP mobility refused
- Trina
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6 years 5 months ago #200069 by Trina
DLA to PIP mobility refused was created by Trina
Husband high DLA mob indefinite award for last 20 years. Degenerative discs and fibromyalgia. PIP refused 4 pts for up to 200m. Says he does not have muscle wastage. Husband struggles with any distance, in immediate pain when walking uses crutches for short 10 m max then wheelchair. Had old doc letter saying observes struggling at 12 m and pain clinic letter two years old detailing spine damage and fibro. Wrote detailed explanation of effect of walking. Don't know how prove telling the truth as they seem give no weight to what he has said.
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- Gordon
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6 years 5 months ago #200077 by Gordon
Nothing on this board constitutes legal advice - always consult a professional about specific problems
Replied by Gordon on topic DLA to PIP mobility refused
Trina
he is not required to walk pain free but any pain that restricts the distance that he can walk should be taken into account.
Specifically for the Moving Around activity, if he is able to walk but he is in severe pain when doing so, then you can argue that his walking is not to a necessary standard and should be disregarded.
The legal test requires him to stand and then move (walk), so if he has problems getting up then you should document these as well.
If he walks slowly then it must take him at least twice the time to cover the 20m as a healthy person would, this could be down to the speed of his walking but could also be the result of having to stop.
He must be able to repeat the distance, so if he could walk it once but not then be able to walk it again within a reasonable timescale then he should be classed as unable to repeat the activity.
I'm afraid I can't tell you how to show his walking is more restricted but things you need to think about is what he can't do, for example what can he walk in your house, how far is the toilet from where he normally sit, things that will count against him are any trips that you make outside, so for example, how do you do your shopping?
He must be able to walk the distance he can, reliably and on the majority of days, both these terms are defined in the PIP Claim guide
www.benefitsandwork.co.uk/help-for-claimants/pip
So you need to explain what he can do, how he is limited and why.
The first stage to challenging a Decision is for you to request a Mandatory Reconsideration, this needs to be done in writing to the DWP, within one month of the Decision, to the office that dealt with his claim, have a look at our PIP MR & Appeal guide for details of the process, the PIP area also has template letters that you can use to make the request with.
www.benefitsandwork.co.uk/help-for-claimants/pip
You should contact the DWP for a copy of the assessment report if you have not already done so, I would phone them but again follow up the request in writing. Once you have the assessment report you will have a better understanding of how the DWP Decision Maker has come to their conclusions and will then be able to argue against them.
Your primary task is to show that he met the criteria, there are many reasons you may have failed, you need to address each of these but don't get bogged down in criticising the assessment report unless you can clearly show that it is incorrect, it is a lot easier to argue the facts of the situation;
"the assessor recorded that he walked 50m, he did but they have failed to document that he had to stop every 10m for a rest due to breathlessness"
than their opinions
"based on my observations of the claimant walking I believe that they can reliably walk more than 200m.
When you have a better idea of the issues with your claim, come back to the forum and we will do our best to help.
Gordon
he is not required to walk pain free but any pain that restricts the distance that he can walk should be taken into account.
Specifically for the Moving Around activity, if he is able to walk but he is in severe pain when doing so, then you can argue that his walking is not to a necessary standard and should be disregarded.
The legal test requires him to stand and then move (walk), so if he has problems getting up then you should document these as well.
If he walks slowly then it must take him at least twice the time to cover the 20m as a healthy person would, this could be down to the speed of his walking but could also be the result of having to stop.
He must be able to repeat the distance, so if he could walk it once but not then be able to walk it again within a reasonable timescale then he should be classed as unable to repeat the activity.
I'm afraid I can't tell you how to show his walking is more restricted but things you need to think about is what he can't do, for example what can he walk in your house, how far is the toilet from where he normally sit, things that will count against him are any trips that you make outside, so for example, how do you do your shopping?
He must be able to walk the distance he can, reliably and on the majority of days, both these terms are defined in the PIP Claim guide
www.benefitsandwork.co.uk/help-for-claimants/pip
So you need to explain what he can do, how he is limited and why.
The first stage to challenging a Decision is for you to request a Mandatory Reconsideration, this needs to be done in writing to the DWP, within one month of the Decision, to the office that dealt with his claim, have a look at our PIP MR & Appeal guide for details of the process, the PIP area also has template letters that you can use to make the request with.
www.benefitsandwork.co.uk/help-for-claimants/pip
You should contact the DWP for a copy of the assessment report if you have not already done so, I would phone them but again follow up the request in writing. Once you have the assessment report you will have a better understanding of how the DWP Decision Maker has come to their conclusions and will then be able to argue against them.
Your primary task is to show that he met the criteria, there are many reasons you may have failed, you need to address each of these but don't get bogged down in criticising the assessment report unless you can clearly show that it is incorrect, it is a lot easier to argue the facts of the situation;
"the assessor recorded that he walked 50m, he did but they have failed to document that he had to stop every 10m for a rest due to breathlessness"
than their opinions
"based on my observations of the claimant walking I believe that they can reliably walk more than 200m.
When you have a better idea of the issues with your claim, come back to the forum and we will do our best to help.
Gordon
Nothing on this board constitutes legal advice - always consult a professional about specific problems
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