× Members

DLA to PIP lost Mobility component

More
5 years 10 months ago #212629 by Hel
Looking for help for my husband who has lost his mobility component completely following his move from DLA to PIP. He has amongst other things Osteoarthritis in his knees, Pernicious Anaemia, ASD and functional amnesia. He had a full left knee replacement 3 years ago and will have to have his right knee replaced at some point in the not to distant future.

On the decision letter it states that he has no diagnosed cognitive or mental health condition or eating disorder. The medical report was completed by a paramedic who has lied by omission (saying that he gave answers that I gave), stating that he is on low doses of medication when he is on high does, His observations are completely made up, saying that he heard his name when called, he didn't call his name he walked up to us and asked if he was my husband. There is masses more, all the same sort of things. There are also contradictions between the check boxes and what has been written in the justification.


We need help to write for the MR, but can't get an appointment with someone at the CAB until 2 weeks after the MR needs to be in.


Any advice greatly appreciated. Feeling like we are being ruled by benefit assessments at the moment, both of us have just been reassessed for ESA, mine is being reassessed again after just 4 months.

Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.

More
5 years 10 months ago #212649 by Gordon
Replied by Gordon on topic DLA to PIP lost Mobility component
H

Welcome to the forum, you might want to have a look at the following FAQ which explain where everything is

Welcome to Benefits and Work

In case you are not aware, your real name appears to be showing in the forum, if you want to change this then follow the instructions in the following FAQ

My full name is showing, how can I stop it?



How did your husband qualify for Mobility under DLA?

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: Hel

Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.

More
5 years 10 months ago #212664 by Hel
Replied by Hel on topic DLA to PIP lost Mobility component
He qualified for High Rate Mobility for being Virtually unable to walk as he is in permanent pain, which is exacerbated by walking.

We have the PA4 report, so can start by finding things like the example you gave, which in my husbands case would be "the assessor recorded that my husband walked 30 metres from the car to the assessment centre, but the distance is only 20 meters and he had to stop due to pain and stumbling twice during this walk"

"the assessor then recorded that he slowly walked 25 metres with a stick and limping gait, but the internal distance he walked was only 10 metres which was split into 5 metres from the door to the lift where he had to lean on the wall whilst queuing for the lift, he was also heavily leaning on my wheelchair."

There are a lot of things like that I can use for the MR.

Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.

More
5 years 10 months ago #212674 by Gordon
Replied by Gordon on topic DLA to PIP lost Mobility component
Hel

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 you are able to walk but you are 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 his 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 he makes 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 walk, how he is limited and why.

Gordon

Nothing on this board constitutes legal advice - always consult a professional about specific problems

Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.

More
5 years 6 months ago #217513 by Hel
Replied by Hel on topic DLA to PIP lost Mobility component
Update to this. Husbands getting around has just been awarded by a decision maker pre appeal. His award is now for an ongoing period. The advice on this site was so helpful in preparing the appeal papers.

Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.

More
5 years 6 months ago #217522 by Gordon
Replied by Gordon on topic DLA to PIP lost Mobility component

Hel wrote: Update to this. Husbands getting around has just been awarded by a decision maker pre appeal. His award is now for an ongoing period. The advice on this site was so helpful in preparing the appeal papers.


Very pleased for you, well done.

Gordon

Nothing on this board constitutes legal advice - always consult a professional about specific problems
The following user(s) said Thank You: Hel

Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.

Moderators: GordonGaryBISCatherineWendyKellygreekqueenpeterKatherineSuper UserjimmckChris
We use cookies

We use cookies on our website. Some of them are essential for the operation of the site, while others help us to improve this site and the user experience (tracking cookies). You can decide for yourself whether you want to allow cookies or not. Please note that if you reject them, you may not be able to use all the functionalities of the site.