Help with PIP for Menieres Disease and Vestibular Migraine

Hi Miamo

Welcome to the forum.

You might want to have a look at the following FAQ which explains where everything is; www.benefitsandwork.co.uk/guides-for-claimants/faq/forum.

The first thing you need to do is contact DWP and ask for a copy of the assessors report called a PA4.

When you have the assessment report you will have a better understanding of how the DWP Decision Maker has come to their conclusions and you will now be able to argue against them.

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 needs to be done in writing to the DWP, within one month of the Decision, to the office that dealt with your claim, have a look at our PIP MR & Appeal guide; benefitsandwork.co.uk/guides-for-claimants/pip

For the CRMR1 form to initiate your MR; www.gov.uk/government/publications/chall...ork-and-pensions-dwp

If you contact the following websites they may have some guidance to help you with your claim.
www.menieres.org.uk/information-and-supp...ons/menieres-disease

migrainetrust.org/understand-migraine/ty...-migraine/vesibular/

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

Hi Miamo,
www.benefitsandwork.co.uk/kunena/10-dla-...clarification#283929

Please see this post that I made a couple of days ago. (Sorry that it is rather lengthy!) I went through the descriptor process and what you need to consider. Although the post related to mobility I think you will be able to adopt the same considerations for each and every descriptor.The Guides referred to by Gary will give you a more focussed analysis for specific descriptors as well as more general information.

From your brief description of your illness, (and I apologise that I know little about this, ) I'm thinking that safety might be an issue, especially if there are balance issues when standing or when you move. Think also of the cumulative effect - is there fatigue, if you do some activities, can you complete all/repeat as required? What prevents you doing the activity - eg do you have to remain in the bathroom during the vomitting attacks - that could mean this physically prevents you from actually going in the kitchen to prepare or cook food or going outside? Is hygiene/food safety a problem? Do you get pain -this could make activities not reach 'an acceptable standard'.

Gary has suggested looking up a relevant health website. NHS website , or bnf.nice.org.uk/ is also useful for info on medications/dosages etc. When writing Reconsideration letters or appeal submissions, I often consult these websites. There is often a long list of symptoms and or their effect for the condition. I would quote from the website, (giving the website name/page which you can copy and paste,) -

so as example
"According to XYZ.com there are 5 major symptoms of X disease, which are ...[copy the list and paste it] I have all 5 of these health problems. [ you could then add -if this was appropriate] I also have 2 of the symptoms listed under 'advanced disease', " [ list the additional symptoms from the list.]

then for medication, (this is often a problem with Assessment Reports!)

EG " The Assessment Report states 'only on low dose of medication' - this is incorrect. I take 200mg x 2 daily of ABCD medicine. [Copy and paste the exact page from BNF] shows that 400mg is the highest dose that can be prescribed."

I hope this helps.
Please re-post if you need more help about a specific descriptor.

LL26