Just wanted to share my good news that I had my ESA tribunal today and won! They have put me in the support group- I still can't believe it!! From Atos zero points to support group!
So if there are any of you who have failed an Atos medical and are not sure about appealing because of the fear of having to go to a tribunal - please don't worry about it and fight all the way! Justice can and will prevail!
Molly44
so pleased for you i had the same 13 months ago, then last july when i had to reclaim my dla it only took them 16 days to give it to me indefinatly so i dont have to claim every 2 years.
lin
Hi molly44
I am so pleased for you that I cannot put it into words. Well done!
Take care
ken x
great news have my tribunal at 4 pm tomorrow nice to hear something positive
Thanks matressback. Good luck for tomorrow I will keep everything crossed for you!
Hi Molly
Well done im so pleased for you im waiting for my PIP results any day now and will keep on fighting if i dont get the right result
Gilly xx
Thanks Gilly x yes you keep fighting and I hope the results are good news x
Hi gillyb59 hw long have you been waiting on your pip. Ive had my assessment. Im just waiting on atos too provide the dwp with my medical report. Ive been waiting since July last year. Cheers Dave
Hi Davy147
I applied in july last year and my ATOS assessment was on 17th october 2013 they have now sent it to DWP and they recieved it on the 13 january so now waiting result.
have you phoned atos to find out what is going on with your claim
Good Luck
Gentle Hugs
Gillyb xx
Congratulations!!! fantastic news, so glad the stress of tribunal is over for you x
Thank you candlelight x yes it is a huge relief I celebrated with a Chinese takeaway!!
Hopefully I can stop worrying for a year now but the DWP can obviously appeal and choose to send me for another medical whenever they feel like it I suppose!
Thanks again x
Yummy!! Surely dwp will leave you alone for a while now, all this tribunal stuff must have cost them a few quid, haha, they'll only loose their case again if they try it. Hope you feel empowered now you've won and will get what you are entitled to. Happy days x
Thanks candlelight x Yes the Chinese was delicious then last night we splashed out on a pizza - I hope I get my back payments!! Hopefully they will leave me alone but knowing the DWP I doubt it!!
Thanks again
Nicola
So pleased for you Molly .thats great news hugs sue
thank you Sue x big hugs to you too x
This is wonderful news Molly! Thank goodness common sense prevailed. I sincerely hope your life will be made somewhat easier now (the relief alone should be enormous!). xx
Thank you Yorkshiregirlie x yes the relief is immense!
Did they state what they awarded on? Special Circumstances?
Yes it was regulation 29 and 35 of ESA regulations 2008 which basically means any work or work related activities would result in a substantial risk of a deterioration in my physical health!
That's what I got mine on, but still have a 12 month review even though the judge and doctor showed concerns of what plans I had in place when my wife was at work part time.
when they review you in 12 months can't you just go for another medical, etc??
I had to go to appeal because the medical was a sham but under the new rules the money will stop while I appeal and it is DWP who have to agree to accept the appeal. So if they take months I have no money for that time, with no back payment is agreed!
That's terrible - when I appealed I got the assessment rate immediately but that was back in June 2013. The rules must have changed since then
Was it an ESA appeal?
yes ESA
can you apply for PIP? I have never applied for this and I think this may take a while but I don't know the procedures. Have you asked advice at CAB (mind you they were not much help to me!)
Is the best place to start and it does not take to long. I applied for DLA some time back but was not as bad as I am now.
When I did it it gave me 2 other things I may be able to get.
Hi Molly,
I've already responded on your other post, but just wanted to add my congratulations here, 
I am so so pleased for you, what a great result, and as you say, inspiration for people to keep on working to get the justice they deserve !
Well done you 
Foggy x
Thanks Foggy x yes I saw your other message and really appreciate all your wonderful support and best wishes! I wanted to put it on again in a separate post to encourage people to fight for the justice they deserve (as you so aptly put it!).
I know there are many people who don't appeal because of the stress, but I want to urge them to try if they possibly can. Yes it was extremely stressful and hard work and I had fantastic support from family and friends (1 friend in particular who I am forever indebted to typed my whole appeal out for me, and helped me with what to write as she came to the medical and knew what 'lies' were written in the HCP report. She then went with me yesterday as well!). I was really terrified by the whole ordeal but it was not too bad at the Tribunal and common sense finally prevailed)
Thanks again x
As the saying goes, "if at first you don't succeed, try, try and try again " a very good adage in my mind. :-). I'm just so pleased you've got the result you deserve
Foggy x
Thanks Foggy x Yes I always use that saying and am forever quoting it to my son and daughter! I do try and live by it and never give in too easily. I get a bit obsessive with it at times and hate having to admit defeat - if I don't know the answer to things I will spend ages trying to find out a solution!!
Thanks again for your kind words x
You are most welcome
Foggy x
Thanks x
Well done Molly so pleased for you hope I get the same whenever they get round to me x
thanks Mistyang x I hope you get the same outcome x
Hi Nancy - no problem about the rant I actually had one on Facebook earlier and it took me an hour to write!! I appealed in June and then waited until yesterday for the tribunal so approx. 8 months. I can't believe they can assess you just on a questionnaire but they do appear to do this!! There was a woman in the waiting room yesterday who was there because the DWP stopped her son's DLA. He has autism and they made the decision without even meeting her son let alone assessing him! Anyway she had letters from doctors, etc and she won!
I am so sorry about your Lupus that can be extremely bad on its own without having Fibro on top.
When I sent all my supporting evidence to DWP (by special delivery) they lost it ( so I sent it all again) but found it when I wrote to my MP who looked into it! The Tribunal sent me all the evidence they received from the DWP ( in duplicate because I had to resend everything) so I eventually knew what the DWP had received from this. However I must say that whenever I rang the DWP since the appeal starting, they could never tell me what they had actually received from me, as their system could only tell them that they had received 'evidence' but could not tell them what this was!! Stupid system but one member of their staff said basically their system could not cope because of the huge amount of appeals!!
I know what you mean about exaggerating though. I completely messed up the form and did not give enough info and just imagined myself on what I may be able to do on a really good day (which are so infrequent I can't actually remember having one!) We need to write about our bad days (something I am not very good at doing because I find it hard to accept my limitations and my head tells me I can do more than my body is telling me!!)
Anyway I wish you luck and I am sorry I can't advise you more on what you should do next
best wishes
Nicola
Hiya, well done, I also won my appeal on the 5th of this month, thank goodness so it is well worth persevering and going for appeal, so don't give
Well done Molly! you must be so relieved.
Best wishes
April
Thanks moonstonebright - yes I am so relieved it is hard to put it into words!!
Hi Molly44,
I must confess I have no idea what the acronyms in your article mean - i do not have access to any benefits ( although reading posts on this site I wonder if I should?), however it sounds like really good news and like you fought hard to get it - so a congratulaions is definitely in order!!!
Thank you Mrs_Somerset. I have to confess that I did not know what they meant until I Googled them! Anyway all that matters is that I am on ESA and in the support group so I am ecstatic!!
And if you feel that you may be eligible for benefits then please do apply because you never know?! The best thing that can happen is that you get money and the worse thing is that they say no, but I would encourage everyone to at least apply and if they think that they are turned down incorrectly then they should APPEAL!!
Hi mate. How long did it take for your medical for ESA Cheers Dave
Hi Molly, well done and what a relief for you.
Tannels x
Well done on winning appeal , I waited since July for appeal after zero points at assessement . Awarded 15 points at appeal but was put in work related group , not enough national insurance contributions and wife earns to much so will only get N I contributions . All that stress and hastle for nothing ( that's what I get for telling appeal people I want to get better and return to work not be like I am ) I know I won't be able to attend work focused interviews due to illnesses ( fibro , CFS , hip and knee pain , problem with balance , marked hypersomnia , migraines and now afraid to go out on my own ) representative told me to apply again in 6 weeks but really can't stand the thought of going through it all again and being questioned over and over . Well done again on getting into support group
Hi Kylemax Thank you x I told tribunal people that I wanted to work also and not suffer from these conditions, and yet I was still put in support group - don't know how!! I would encourage you to apply again and fill in the ESA50 form with the help form benefits and work guides. I completely messed up my ESA50 and wrote that I could do things that I couldn't because I did not want to sound lazy!! Next time I fill one in I will visualise my bad days!! Hopefully you will be awarded support group from your ESA50 alone?
I wish you luck with whatever you decide x
Well done on getting into support group . I won 2 jd appeal last week awarded 15 points but put in wrag and not entitled to money . Suffer from fibro , CFS , hypersomnia as well as nervous system problem ( all back up by neuro ) asos lied and said my gp had told them working wouldn't affect my physical health ( I told them on phone I was appealing under rule 29 or 35 ) so they obv got that covered by lying ... My representative told appeal about the call to gp and gp confirming he hadn't spoke to anyone but it was dismissed at appeal , they also stated I was on " standard painkillers " though it is dihydrocodiene I am taking for pain . Also stated I didn't have to change clothes when I don't make it to toilet ( due to leg hip and knee pain affecting my mobility ) but I clearly stated this happens regularly . My wife works and we have no dependants so I will only get NI contributions . Have had no obey from them since March last year . Assessement was in July ( after being cancelled twice and 3rd time dr was off sick ) took all this time for appeal and nothing at end of it. My representative said no point asking them to look at decision and put me in support group as can apply again in 6 weeks don't think I will be applying again as stress is taking its toll . I have been referred back to neuro as starting to get worse trying to walk and balance is so bad as well as my foot turning in and dragging it now . I am only 45 and told appeal panel I don't want to live this degrading soul destroying life any longer , I want to be normal and return to work but it just isn't possible at the moment ( even showering requires me having to sleep for 2-3 hours after it due to exhaustion ) sorry for the rant !!! Well done again on winning and beating the screwed up system. This illness needs to be recognized for what it is and stop putting us all through what we have to go through.
Hi again Kylemac I am so sorry for the way you have been treated but you must never give up! Please do try again in 6 weeks - like I said before you may get support group from your ESA50 this time without having to appeal. And if you do have to appeal you may get a lovely judge like I did. The doctor didn't really seem to be on my side, but I got a good result at the end of the day, although I still don't know how. I did not score enough on the descriptors even though I can't walk 50 metres repeatedly blah blah blah and can't sit in normal chair for more than 10 mins without being in severe pain, and in my opinion I should score on a lot of the other descriptors! Also I have bilateral sensorineural hearing loss caused by nerve damage and could not hear the doctor at all - had to ask hime to repeat everything 2 or 3 times but I still did not score on the hearing descriptor!! Anyway I still got support group on the reg 29 and reg 35 so I guess I was lucky.
I am also really sorry to hear about your health deteriorating even more.
Don't give up and keep fighting for what is rightfully yours x
Hi molly. Today I received my atos medical report. Scoring zero points. Im dumb found basically. Suggestions on what to do next please? Also how long will this take. Thanks Dave
Hi davy147
The first thing to do is telephone DWP and ask for full medical report ( I think it is ESA85). Also tell them you want to appeal and ask them to send you the relevant paperwork to do this. My appeal started last June 2013 and I think procedures have now changed so I don't want to advise you about actual appeals procedure now because I will probably get it wrong!
Just remember APPEAL, APPEAL, APPEAL! Don't give up!
Send everything to DWP recorded or special delivery as they WILL lose your documents!
I went through the HCP medical report and dissected it with the help of my friend who went to ATOS medical with me. We then typed a long document pointing out everything that was untrue or assumed on the part of the HCP (which was basically most of it apart from my name and national insurance number!!)
I sent in to DWP lots of medical evidence - letters from consultants, hospital appointment letters, etc
I sent letters of support from friends and family who know me and see how my illness affects me
I also sent a document pointing out which descriptors were relevant to me and how many points I felt I SHOUL have scored! (you can get a copy of descriptors from internet)
So I appealed in June 2013, had my Tribunal in January 2014 and received back payments in March 2014.
So good luck with your appeal and if I can help with anything else just ask and I will try to reply promptly
molly44
I'm waiting for my tribunal date....im so pleased for you. I know how stressful it is waiting. if you have any tips. I would be grateful. thanks.
Hi Molly44
Hope all is well, I have got my tribunal on 22nd, can you please give me any tips and advice as I’m starting to get anxious now it’s getting nearer.
Thank you
Paula
Hi I had my tribunal on Monday worse day of my life,it did not go well it for esa, they said they would write and that will tell.it not looking like I got points.bad back they had all hos letters,my son cares for me asking me our do I get a glass of water and our do I drink it.made me so upset.
Fingers crossed it went better than you thought. I think I got on the Judges last nerve. Very quickly was asked to leave, felt I'd been chucked out, and then . . . They didn't want me back again. My brief just shrugged, who knows what the Judge was thinking? It was all very bad!!! And then a few days later, a letter saying it was all good. I was relieved. Horridly traumatic day. Don't recommend it for fun, but for justice? Hopefully your best bet. Never give in.
Today I had my DLA Tribunal
