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Claiming for mental illness
- Bernadette
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3 years 3 months ago #266156 by Bernadette
Claiming for mental illness was created by Bernadette
I was awarded PIP at the standard rate for both daily living needs & mobility since May this year. I have had anxiety and depression for several years but the assessor for my claim wrote that, in his opinion, that as i was not receiving any specialist input fot mental health & there is no evidence of overwhelming psychological distress he could not award any points. I have been on medication for my mental health for several years & have had counselling 5 times over recent years (letter from counsellor & mental health workers included with PIP form). Now there are new rulings regarding mental health can i re-apply for that to be considered or am i too late?
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- Gary
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3 years 3 months ago #266172 by Gary
Nothing on this board constitutes legal advice - always consult a professional about specific problems
Replied by Gary on topic Claiming for mental illness
Hi Bernadette
Welcome to the forum, you might want to have a look at the following FAQ which explains where everything is
Welcome to Benefits and Work
You can do an out of time Mandatory Reconsideration (MR), you will need to say why you are applying for an out of time MR, I usually use form CRMR1 www.gov.uk/mandatory-reconsideration. A word of warning, you can loose what you have already been awarded.
When going through an assessors report I usually use a highlighter to highlight any inaccuracies, once you have gone through the report you then set out why you are applying for a MR and go through each descriptor one at a time why you disagree with the assessor and try and match it with any supporting documents you may have sent in.
Understand that the assessor is offering an opinion when they say 'in my opinion' you can do the PIP activities, tackling these head-on is unlikely to be successful, you need to show that the basis of that opinion is founded on incorrect information, so try and refer to your evidence to undermine what they have said, remember they are just an opinion which is not based on fact.
Also, try and stick to issues that lead to your scoring points, I often hear members referring to the assessors spelling, as an example, whilst it may show a lack of professionalism, raising it as an issue isn't going to help you get an award.
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.
Lastly, make sure that you understand the criteria that you are being assessed against you can put the best case forward that is possible but you won't score points if you do not meet the PIP Descriptors.
The first stage to challenging a Decision is for you to request a Mandatory Reconsideration, this should be done in writing to the DWP, within one month of the Decision, to the office that dealt with your claim but you can do out of time appeals with good cause. Have a look at our PIP MR & Appeal guide.
www.benefitsandwork.co.uk/help-for-claimants/pip
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.
Gary
Welcome to the forum, you might want to have a look at the following FAQ which explains where everything is
Welcome to Benefits and Work
You can do an out of time Mandatory Reconsideration (MR), you will need to say why you are applying for an out of time MR, I usually use form CRMR1 www.gov.uk/mandatory-reconsideration. A word of warning, you can loose what you have already been awarded.
When going through an assessors report I usually use a highlighter to highlight any inaccuracies, once you have gone through the report you then set out why you are applying for a MR and go through each descriptor one at a time why you disagree with the assessor and try and match it with any supporting documents you may have sent in.
Understand that the assessor is offering an opinion when they say 'in my opinion' you can do the PIP activities, tackling these head-on is unlikely to be successful, you need to show that the basis of that opinion is founded on incorrect information, so try and refer to your evidence to undermine what they have said, remember they are just an opinion which is not based on fact.
Also, try and stick to issues that lead to your scoring points, I often hear members referring to the assessors spelling, as an example, whilst it may show a lack of professionalism, raising it as an issue isn't going to help you get an award.
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.
Lastly, make sure that you understand the criteria that you are being assessed against you can put the best case forward that is possible but you won't score points if you do not meet the PIP Descriptors.
The first stage to challenging a Decision is for you to request a Mandatory Reconsideration, this should be done in writing to the DWP, within one month of the Decision, to the office that dealt with your claim but you can do out of time appeals with good cause. Have a look at our PIP MR & Appeal guide.
www.benefitsandwork.co.uk/help-for-claimants/pip
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.
Gary
Nothing on this board constitutes legal advice - always consult a professional about specific problems
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