Judge wants me to have face to face appointment

John wrote:

Hi Gary it went to tribunal and the judge has ask me to have a face to face assessment because he thinks I have a case

Don't assume the Judge is offering an opinion about your case, they are not, if they did then the DWP would almost certainly appeal (and win) any Decision that was made.

At best they are saying that by having an Oral hearing the panel will be able to fully explore your problems and how you meet the PIP criteria.

Gordon

John

A Tribunal is a Court of Law and just as it would be in a criminal case it is inappropriate for the Judge to make any comment as to the validity of the claimant's case prior to the hearing when all of the evidence is available for review.

Doing so presents the DWP with an opportunity to claim bias in the Decision and to force a new hearing to be held.

Gordon

Hi John

I hope you do win your case, but as Gordon says, whatever you have been told by the DWP you should make no assumptions about what the Judge thinks or does not think and no one should have said that to you.

BIS