I am having esa tribunal later this week atos nurse has contradicted everything said on my esa 50- I said difficulty walking 50 metres she denied it. she said I can sit for more tha hour in 1 position I dispute this all lies from start to finish.I never had a face to face medical and according to the nurse I scored 0 points on all headings yet I came up with 40 points myself.
YET! at the beginning of the report she acknowledges I am in severe pain due to fibromyalgia-what hypocrites these people are! I am wondering what percentage of people win their esa appeals??
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scottspeirs1
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Hi sorry to hear about the bad time you have had trying to obtain ESA, it is a nightmare. My husband managed to have his veridict completely turned around from 0 points to 18 on appeal. That you are going in person will certainly go in your favour as paper appeals seem to rarely be succesful from what I hear, If you are a member of the Benfit and Works site they have some wonderful information about appeals. Make sure you realise that ther could be cameras outside the place where the appeal takes place rather like the ESA centres so you could be watched arriving, etc. If you have stated something like that you have difficulty doing up buttons and you appear in something with masses of small buttons you will scuppered from the start. I presume you have gone through the ATOS nurses report with a fine tooth comb to see where the discrepancies are and take any evidence you have that contradicts what has been said, we highlighted the relevant parts to make it less confusing. They will accept new evidence on the day but prefer to have had it beforehand so they can read it more carefully. The twice we had to appear they seemed firm but fair, very professional and no nonsense and seemed to genuinely want to make the correct decision. In fact the first time they sent us away without making a decision as they did not like some of the discrepancies we had highlighted and wanted the whole of my husband's medical records from the moment he was taken ill so they could come to an informed decision and they did that and came down in his favour. All I can say is that I wish you good luck and I hope that you get the right decision.x
I am so sorry to read of your experience, and I genuinely hope that you can win your tribunal. I have pasted you a link below to the ATOS website and ESA claims pages, so I hope that you find this useful:
Get an appointment to see your local MP.. Find their website and email/ phone ASAP. For a start.. If you haven't been to any ATOS face to face and the nurse ( what nurse?.. If you haven't had a face to face?)says you have .. that's voided it surely?.. Have they got you mixed with anyone else??!!
A friend of mine who is at the mo on contribution ESA keeps getting letters from DWP saying nothing relevant to his case.. They sent someone else's details and case to him by mistake.. Luckily he noticed the wrong nat ins number.
Just a thought
Good luck.. Who needs this on top everything else?
I am confused as to how they can make a statement like that if they have not seen you unless they are using filmed evidence from JSA visits? I can be at my computer for an hour but I am constantly moving to try and get comfortable and the same when in bed trying to sleep. When I went to my ATOS ESA meeting I was kept waiting and they stated that I had sat for that length of time? I stated "What alternative did I have? Standing is more painful for me" They said I do not use a stick which took no account of arthritis in my neck and shoulders and 3 compression fractures in my back and the physio's instructions not to use a stick as this could aggravate these unless absolutely necessary!
1) Have someone drive you. If you can drive you have all the skills necessary to function at work. (2) When waiting move around a lot. Up, down, side to side, over, over, & over again. Don't fake it but don't force yourself to sit still when your body needs to move! (3) When beginning hearing ask if you can stand some during hearing. Explain you can't sit all the time. (4) If they offer to take breaks to accommodate your physical needs... take them! (5) Take your time to be sure you understand questions. Clarify what you are being asked if necessary. Don't be afraid to tell them if you are confused or if you have not gotten your point across to them. Cognitive limitations win cases above all other symptoms. (6) When this nurse's information is 1st brought up in court, by anyone including yourself, look around the court & ask if she is there. Then ask the judge who she is & if she is there. Then, and only then, explain that you never met her. This will have a much more dramatic effect & bring home to the judge(s) that she never examined you!
[Oh...in answer to your question...she reviewed your case file & wrote up what is usual movement for your diagnosis. A common practice in 1st stage denials for social security claims in the USA. They said my mom could squat & kneel with a knee frozen stiff in fully extended position. She called them paid whores..sad but true]
(7) Don't be afraid to demonstrate physical limitations that you safely can. If she said you can squat get up, hold the side of the table & show how low you can go....which I bet isn't a squat with your pain levels. Of course judge will usually only let you pull one of these. (8) If she said you can walk a mile go get on a tread mill before your hearing & see how far you can walk. Judge was surprised when I told him I could walk .6 miles & then my sciatica would spasm. He asked how I knew & i told him. (9) Look up your labor laws. She said you can sit for an hour. I don't know about the UK but in USA employers will not give you hourly breaks! They are only required to give two 5 minute breaks & a 1/2 hour lunch break. (9) In my case, & probably yours, I could not sit & stand alternately throughout my day to work. I worked on a computer. Stooping to type from a standing position escalated my pain & sciatica even faster than sitting for extended periods of time did. (10) Make an extra copy of her report & write notes in the border alongside where you need to clarify points. This will prevent you from writing & attempting to read to the judges a book...which will lose their interest fast! (11) Make a copy for each judge of the most current medical record (Dr note, PT MRI, CT, lab rpt, whatever) that substantiates your clarification you are making & hand them forward with each point you make. Keep them in order! Even if they ask for something before you get to it, go through your papers slowly from the top & pull it ou carefully, keeping the rest I order.
I don't know if any of this will help.y hope is that at least one point will make a positive difference for you. Relax...being there I person is way, way good!!!! Just be honest, truth I on your side. Give us the actual date so we can add you to our prayer list, if you would like. God Bless!
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