Well just to keep you all updated i had my esa appeal at court yesterday what a nightmare i had OH I WON!
I have never been grilled from a doctor not the judge like that ever in my life it was a total nightmare he constantly tried to trip me up on things i stated last september i cant remember what i said yesterday never mind sept lol yer i know what everyone says hes just doing his job to get rid of those who bleed the system when they are faking it never the less, he said at the begining he is independant from dwp and myself but was blatantly on dwp side my wife came in with me and was disgusted at the treatment i received from him, then 3 mins from the end of the hearing the light came on it was quite funny he was reading a very old script from 2 years ago bloody dimwit lol the judge had tried to interupt but was ignored the ushers were staring at the doc eventually he came to his senses yer he was ancient lol
Just to let anyone know who is on esa do not throw any correspondance away from docs etc and never ever give up!
The ruling also stated i would never have to do this again (yer right) until i was at a level where i concidered going back to work part time or other mmm other i wonder. That was my 4th appeal over 3 years at court it terrifies me every time so to all i say again
NEVER EVER GIVE UP YOU HAVE TO FIGHT FOR YOURE RIGHTS.....
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gaspajack
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I only ever been in court when I had a car crash and I was proved not guilty of causing the crash and got 100% costs given to me. It was terrifying!
The lawyers are very good at twisting your words and trying to say you said this or that when you didn't , but I was very impressed with how they argued the case!
So glad you got your entitlement and yes I already have kept every letter!!
Well done for seeing it through ... many drop out .....
The whole tribunal is supposed to be independent. Generally the docs ask questions that may seem irrelevant , but are very pertinent to the legislation surrounding the Work Capability Assessment .
The fact that you won means that the doc was listening to your answers as his opinion carries a lot of weight .
If it was a first tier tribunal , they do not have the power to award ESA indefinitely , as this is set in Law (legislation).
To anyone else out there going through the same ...
Get medical evidence from GP , Consultant , Care worker , family etc as early as possible and preferably send in with your ESA 50 medical questionnaire.
Many Health professionals say " The DWP will contact me if they need any information".. This is not the case with ESA .. and it is up to you to get the evidence.
Take someone to the Medical with you ( if you have to have one).
If you are found to be "fit for work", appeal and ask for a copy of the Medical report (ESA 85) immediately . You must appeal or ask for written reasons within one month.. Also try and send any further evidence with an appeal.
DWP are now asking the Tribunals Service to "strike out" appeals (cancel them) if the claimant has not fitted the criteria for 2 or more physical descriptors.If this is the case then the tribunals service will give you limited time to get further evidence to them . (The further evidence could include errors in the medical report (ESA 85.. hence asking for it at an early stage.
I would even ask for a copy if i was successful.
If there are errors there then i would put in a complaint to ATOS as well ... not enough people do as they fear their benefits will be affected
Don't be afraid to seek advice at a very early stage from CAB or a Law Centre ..
Incidentally Gaspajack how many points were you originally awarded , or was it a Work Related Group / Support Group Decision.
Hi Rich, I wholeheartedly agree with gathering evidence. At my first assessment I scored 18pts and was placed in the WRAG with further assessment after 6mth, I still requested a copy of the report as I felt I should be in the support group.
I was horrified at the assumptions and errors (blatant play with words) within the medical report, I then made a formal complaint to ATOS and DWP, I also requested the name and qualifications of the medical assessor (a mental health nurse) for a physical condition.
Anyway at the second assessment 10mth later, I was placed in the support group without any correspondence.
This is my second appearance in court for my esa i totally agree you have to keep everything even if you think its of no impotance i did!
The idea of points is well daft but i got 21 points i have no idea what that means but was told by the judge i wont have to do this again ever if there is such a thing as ever and yes the doctors are supposed to be independant but are there to catch out those who abuse the system so really he was doing his job if you have any ideas on the points system let us know and a big thank you to all who replied
gaspa ... if i may shorten your name to that .. when you receive the Tribunal decision , if you have not already done so , it will say on it that you have been awarded points because you satisfy descriptors 1(a) 2 (b) etc (this is an example)
You can then directly correlate the 1(a) etc to the following list on this site ... tameside.gov.uk/esa/wca
mads .. It was gaspajack that had to go through that ... i have yet to go through the IB migration .. but i have experience in dealing with these issues aa a volunteer
hi im due to have my 2nd medical assessment next week. last year i had to appeal because they disagreed i was unfit to work. i went to a tribunal and took my mum who is my rock i rely on her for everything she is a nurse and looks after me very well she knows everthing about my condition and is by my side at every appointment and treatment. when i had my tribunal( which i won)!! i was so scared they twisted my words and got me very upset, what these idiots dont understand is that until you have experienced what we go through day to day then they have no idea what its like living with RA, i suffer from depression aswel because of RA and got told i have fibromyalgia. there is nothing i want more than to be able to get up each day and go to work and bring home the pennys my partner is working so hard. what they dont understand is that RA is different each day theres good and bad days, what use are you ringing up ur employer every other day because your too ill to work. im still struggling to control my RA and im waiting to have my new treatment of rituximab in a couple of weeks. as im going for my assessment in one week has anyone got any advice for me i really dont want to have to go through a bloody tribunal again! it makes me more and more stressed which is worse for my condition as u all know! thanks x
i had my second medical last year and it has changed to the previous one i had different questions etc and you will be asked to move parts of youre body to prove you cant do- what you say you cant, they will ask you to bend and kneel on the floor remember if you cant, dont even attempt it they will ask you how far you can raise youre arms without pain if you put even one over youre head you fail i could do nearly one of my arms at the time and failed if you can get onto the floor and back up even assisted you fail if it you go over youre pain barrier or think it will do not do it however if you can then you fail the only way after the medical to claim any more esa is to call them the same day you receive youre notice of failure call esa immediately you will then be put on a list for a court appearance you have to sit in front of a judge and a doctor and basically plead youre case this is why myself and others keep all documents appointment cards etc as evidence which you will need to appeal youre medical assesment failure.It sounds harsh but the court appearance scares a lot of people off from appealing it is hard going in i was really crappin me pants but i proved there and then i wasnt getting any better infact i was worse BUT you must remember a lot of the questions they ask you in the court are based on what you said you could and could not do at youre medical eg my medical was last sept but my court appearance was not until feb so the questions are asked on what you did or did not say previously which confused the hell out of me you will need a full list of all youre meds and will be am sorry to say quizzed somtimes in depth about youre depression thats where they got me coz i fell apart at that point just a wreck so be prepaired if there is anything else i can help you with just email me or anyone on here we have all gone through it!
Thank u! they r ridiculous i cant believe they can fail u on something so silly! i think i should contact my consultant and ask if they would mind writing and signing a letter that says how my condition is affecting me. I know how i feel and at the moment i do not feel ready to go back to work. I feel guilty though because as i have seen that there are so many people on this site that have conditions and illnesses so much more worse than me, people are battling cancer aswel as other illnesses. But if u were to look at me i dont look very ill, my right wrist is slighty deformed and i look tired alot. But you cant see fatique and side effects and also constant pain!! it really makes me angry that they judge us thinking were trying to get money and theres nothing wrong with us.but yet they give the money to the people who have nothing wrong with them! But thats the way this country is! Rant over!!!!!!
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