Jodey Whiting’s mother, Joy Dove, has finally won her extraordinary five year battle to have a second inquest into her daughter’s death. The inquest which will look at what part the DWP may have played in the tragedy.
Jodey died in February 2017. Her ESA had been stopped after she failed to attend a work capability assessment.
Jodey had been seriously ill with pneumonia, had been receiving treatment for a cyst on the brain and was taking strong painkillers. Nonetheless, she had been refused a home assessment for her ESA and failed to open the appointment letter for a WCA at an assessment centre.
As a result, her benefits were stopped.
The Independent Case Examiner later found that the DWP failed five times to follow its own safeguarding procedures.
Yet an inquest into Jodey’s death lasted less than an hour and failed to even look at the part the DWP played in the tragedy.
The Court of Appeal ordered the new inquest so that both Jodey’s family and the general public would have an opportunity to find out what role the DWP’s failings had in her death.
One of the most important items of evidence the Court of Appeal considered was the finding by an independent psychiatrist that Jodey's mental state would have been substantially affected by the DWP's failings. Dr Turner found that:
“Jodey would have experienced shock and distress at the withdrawal of her welfare benefits and that the effect would have been heightened by her current difficulties, her isolation and her pain”.
After the ruling, Joy Dove said:
“I am so pleased and grateful to the Court of Appeal and I would like to thank the Court of Appeal judges that considered Jodey’s case. We buried Jodey just over six years ago and finally my family and I have the chance of getting justice for Jodey.
“Jodey is never going to be forgotten and her death was not in vain, she’s helping others and her legacy will live on. We have always believed that the DWP wrongly stopping Jodey’s benefits caused her death and the High Court’s refusal caused such disappointment not just for me and my family, but others too who have lost loved ones after DWP mistakes and who continue to fight for accountability from the DWP. This is a victory not just for us but for all those families and others still on the receiving end of awful treatment by the DWP. I hope the DWP learn from their tragic failings.”
A date has not yet been set for the inquest, but we’ll keep readers informed.
