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6 years 4 months ago #200146 by Coco751
PIP Mobility was created by Coco751
. I received my PIP letter this morning and have been awarded standard care, which I accept, but having been on Higher rate DLA for mobility for 15 years have been given standard rate PIP mobility. The reasoning has left me quite amazed: the DWP are saying that because I can drive an unadapted car, I do not qualify for the enhanced rate of Mobility -there is enough strength in my lower body to walk up to 20mtrs. Quite apart from the fact that driving and walking are two completely different activities there is not a single mention of the pain which is a major and immediate issue when I walk and afterwards. I have arthritis in both knees and shoulders and have been in chronic pain from Degenerative Disc Disease for the past 30 years. I am taking daily medication including dihydrocodeine in quantities well above the normal doses (with Dr’s knowledge and acceptance) but still have pain that increases with everything sitting, standing, walking and even lying down. In my application I have included statements such as ‘My pain increases immediately I begin to walk and I need to take a seat so that I can sit when the pain overwhelms me’ ‘Going out has a significant impact on my ability to cope with everyday things in the coming days’ and I have described pain in my knees, back and sciatic pain in one and/or both legs from back to ankle.

Having heard that if you go for a MR they could take the whole award away I don’t know whether I should appeal the mobility. It seems bizarre to take no consideration of the pain which is a fundamental cause of my mobility problems, and to make a leap from driving actvity as evidence that I can walk to the reqiured standard just confounds me. Does anyone have thoughts on the wisdom of MR?

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6 years 4 months ago #200150 by Gordon
Replied by Gordon on topic PIP Mobility
Coco

We are seeing this argument used more often recently, there is some merit to it, but as you point out the two activities are not the same and an ability to do one does not imply an ability to do the other.

There is a risk to your existing award if your request an MR, it's mall but we do regularly see members report that there awards have been reduced or removed.

Also, be aware that revision rates at MR are quite low and you may need to go onto appeal.

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 your 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 you meet 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 I walked 50m, I did but they have failed to document that I 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
The following user(s) said Thank You: Coco751

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6 years 4 months ago #200414 by Coco751
Replied by Coco751 on topic PIP Mobility
Hi. I now have the assessment report which is fairly representative of the interview. It mentions in most of the descriptors that I appeared to be in pain (I was and am) and walked slowly with an abnormal gait. However, despite this and my own representations that from the get go of standing and walking I have increasing pain during and afterwards - sometimes for several days - the DWP have accepted that pain is present all the time for the purposes of the care component, but then used the comparator of driving to come to the conclusion that I have sufficient strength in my lower body to walk the 20metre range and given 10 points for mobility.
Strength is not the issue here and driving does not increase the ability to walk. The problem is the pain generated from everyday living and walking. For the purpose of the mobility award the decsion maker has made no mention of pain in her reasoning. Driving creates sciatic pain, but the alternative of just curling up inside the house is unthinkable.

I understood distances walked whilst in pain are discounted for mobility assessment, is this correct? I think the DWP have made an error to compare driving and walking ability, as I cannot find any link in the PIP documenation of this being a deciding factor. It occurs to me too, with MR risking the loss of all awards, that the ‘rules’ are not consistently applied by the decision makers at the DWP and that would suggest some of the decisions are arbitrary. I’m not sure how to respond.

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6 years 4 months ago #200415 by Coco751
Replied by Coco751 on topic PIP Mobility
Hi I have just found this, which might help people in the same position as myself:

CPIP/665/2016
A significant new legal judgment holds that while someone may ‘push through pain’ in order to continue walking this does not mean that they are walking to an “acceptable standard” for Personal Independence Payment (PIP) purposes.
The new judgment means that consideration should not only be given to whether a disabled claimant can reliably walk up to 20 metres or 50 metres in total.
In addition, consideration should also be given to whether they are walking through pain before reaching 20 metres or 50 metres.
In CPIP/665/2016, Upper Tribunal Judge Markus rejects the Secretary of State’s submission that if pain was not significant enough to prevent someone walking it is only at the stopping point at which the pain meant that walking was to an unacceptable standard.

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6 years 4 months ago #200428 by Gordon
Replied by Gordon on topic PIP Mobility
Coco

This is a matter of severity.

Claimants are not required to complete the PIP activities pain free, however, any pain that limits their ability to complete an activity should be taken into account.

Specifically for the Moving Around activity, if you can show that the pain you suffer is severe, there is no definition of what this means, then even if you can walk you can argue that the walking is not to a necessary standard. This is covered under UTT Decision CPIP/665/2016 as you have discovered.

However, DMs operate within defined guidelines and at this time I am not aware of this Decision having been notified to DMs, so it is possible that you may struggle with this argument at MR, it is likely you will have more success at appeal, assuming of course that you can reasonably show that the level of pain you have is severe enough for it to be accepted as effecting the standard of your walking.

Gordon

Nothing on this board constitutes legal advice - always consult a professional about specific problems
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6 years 4 months ago #200438 by jthor
Replied by jthor on topic PIP Mobility
Dont know about the MR but this is the response the dwp are looking for people not to challenge them.I lost my car and top care award going onto pip but went to tribunal today and won both back. yes its a risk but the tribunal judges are descent people
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