Emotional rollercoaster :-(

I keep finding my self on an emotional roller coaster some days i feel optimistic and other i just feel like my world is falling down around me and there is nothing i can do about it.

I suffer from anxiety,depression and im pretty sure im also a paranoid schizophrenic, on top of this i have perthes disease which renders me with a deformed and very painful hip.

I have had both my esa and also dla stopped i have waited 10 months for my dla appeal, due to my axiety and sheer worry i just did not have the mental strength to face attending my tribunal so i opted for a paper hearing, how ever every now and then i feel like i want to attend to do my self justice but when i think about it i just brake down again and think there is no way i can face it. im up and down but 90% down most of the time.

It really been getting to me for the last few weeks, i cant sleep iv lost my apatite and generally just feel so run down and weak.

I have a question regarding a paper hearing.

This is just regarding the mobility component only.

Basically i was diagnosed with perthes disease when i was around 7 years old, i have always had pain but when i was younger is was not so bad but as i have got older the pain has increased dramatically.

i can not bear any weight on my hip without sever pain and i stated this in my forms.

My gp and orthopedic consultant both wrote reports stating i was in pain at all times when walking.

The only other evidence in this appeal is what the dwp put foward which was a 15 month old atos report for ESA. which stated they believed i could walk over 100 meters.

Not only is that statement untrue but the report its self was 15 months old at the time of the dla claim!

My question is this

The tribunal will have my claim form and 2 reports from my gp and orthopedic consultant all 3 pices of evidence state i can not walk without pain.

If the tribunal decides i do not meet the criteria for mobility, do they have to give a reason why? the only reason i can think of is if they choose to use the 15 month old atos report but if they choose that do they not have to give a reason why they choose that report over both reports from my gp and consultant which are up to date?

how can a 15 month old report be used over 2 up to date reports?


Can anybody give me any possible reason why they would not award me mobility based on this?

Hi Jox

Tribunals do have to give adequate reasons for their decision when a statement of reasons is applied for.

Tribunals have to consider your condition at the time of the decision. Was the ESA report 15 months old when your appeal started or out of date at the time of the decision?

If it was it shouldn't carry much weight.

Good luck, I hope you're not kept waiting too much longer.

Derek

Hi yes the esa report was 15 months old at the time of the claim.

The reason the DWP are using to validate the use of that old report is because when i filled in my renewal forms it asks when did your problems start i stated 1994 for the mobility and 2006 for the the care needs

I know they can only use evidence from the time of the claim but will the fact that i am now on the waiting list for a hip replacement be much of a help?

Hi Jox

If that's the reason that the DWP have given for using your old report then it sounds as though it has limited evidential value, possibly to validate the information that you provided.

I doubt being on the waiting list for a hip replacement will be of much help if they are looking back to the time of the decision.

It is totally absurd that ESA reports are used for DLA because not only are they different tests, but if Atos get one report wrong, as they often do, your other benefit becomes at risk.

Good luck

Derek

The decison on my current DLA claim was made on 10/09/2010

In the submission from the DWP the only evidence they refer to is an atos report dated 18/03/2009 which is a good 15 months before the decision was made they claim this report is valid as i stated in my renewal forms my problems started in 1994 (mobility) and 2006 (care needs)


initially i did not submit my own evidence i only did so after i was initially turned down and i then asked for a reconsideration, it was at this point i wrote to my consultant requesting a report which he wrote a few weeks after i asked for a reconsideration but it states in his report he last seen me on the 29/04/2010 which is 5 months before the decision was made


I have asked my consultant if he could write a report that refers to the date i made my claim but he said as he didn't see me around that time he could not write a report referring to that time.

How will the tribunal view this evidence,if they say that my 5 month old report is no good then that means the 15 month old ATOS which is 3 times older is certainly no good?

It is impossible to second-guess how a tribunal would view the medical reports, but the salient point has been made in your post in that the DLA Unit's submission that they intend to rely on a fifteen month old medical report and disregard a 5 month old report from your consultant, is overtly perverse. This anomaly in itself would provide a sound basis for your appeal.

Incidentally, was the 15 month old medical report produced for DLA purposes or was it an ESA report?