What evidence to include with a Mandatory Reconsideration for PIP — Scope | Disability forum
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What evidence to include with a Mandatory Reconsideration for PIP

rozelbud
rozelbud Community member Posts: 11 Listener
Hi all, 

I am in the process of writing my MR for my PIP decision for right sided hemiplegia, depression, anxiety, PTSD - I requested the assessors report and have gone through any inaccuracies but I have received my medical records (from birth) and now have copies of reports from Consultant neuropaediatrians from babyhood, childhood etc. to include. 

Should I include all my medical records and reports for completeness sake or just those I have used in my MR letter? I understand lots of decisions don't get overturned at MR stage so am also preparing incase I need to take it to tribunal and wondered what would be best?

Thanks!

Comments

  • poppy123456
    poppy123456 Community member Posts: 53,330 Disability Gamechanger
    Hi,

    When writing the MR letter you should avoid mentioning any lies that may have been told in the report because DWP/Tribunal won't be interested in any of those.

    Concentrate on where you think you should have scored those points and your reasons why. Adding a couple of real life examples of what happened the last time you attempted that activity for each descriptor that applies to you.

    Evidence, sending all of your medical records if there's a massive amount is not needed. They most likely won't read all the evidence if you do this. Less is often more. Whether the reports you have will be used will depend how long ago they were written. If there were written along time ago and you have more recent evidence to back them up then send them. Making sure that no evidence contradicts each other. Remember PIP is about how your conditions affect your ability to carry out daily activity based on the PIP descriptors not about a diagnosis.
    I would appreciate it if members wouldn't tag me please. I have all notifcations turned off and wouldn't want a member thinking i'm being rude by not replying.
    If i see a question that i know the answer to i will try my best to help.
  • cristobal
    cristobal Community member Posts: 984 Disability Gamechanger
    @rozelbud - I'd certainly rule out the baby/childhood stuff as it's unlikely to say anything about how you cope with daily tasks etc.

    Have a look at each descriptor, and decide whether anything in your medical records supports what you're saying.

    If it doesn't then don't include it.

    I was quite surprised when I looked at my medical records - loads of test results, diagnoses, scans etc but very little that would evidence a PIP application. On reflection this isn't surprising as doctors don't generally know a lot about how your condition affects you around the house etc - they're interested in diagnosis and treatment..

    Good luck...
  • wilko
    wilko Community member Posts: 2,458 Disability Gamechanger
    Having had my diagnosis and first PIP I was due a F2F Esa assessment but the medical information sent was consistent with my diagnosis that I was place in support group with out an assessment.
  • Chloe_Scope
    Chloe_Scope Posts: 10,586 Disability Gamechanger
    Hi @rozelbud, I wish you the best of luck with the MR and please do let us know if there is anything else we can do to help. :)
    Scope

  • david235
    david235 Community member Posts: 170 Pioneering
    @rozelbud As others have said, the key thing with PIP is explaining how your disabilities and medical conditions affect your ability to carry out the PIP activities. In other words, PIP uses a functional assessment. Whilst it is important to establish a medical basis for these functional problems, this evidence often need not be very detailed.

    The key piece of medical evidence in my successful PIP claim was a one side 'to whom it may concern' A4 letter from my consultant neurologist giving diagnosis, key symptoms, medication, a brief comment about my attitude to life and my prognosis of no recovery expected. There was a further brief report from another consultant that gave a more detailed history and took two sides of A4. Those three sides of paper were all the supporting evidence I submitted.


    I would include any medical evidence that is relevant to your case and certainly anything directly referred to in your reconsideration letter. What you are trying to do is establish a picture of your health in the 9 months leading up to the 'prescribed date' (typically the date of claim) and the likely picture over the 3 months after that date, also any available information about the prospect of change over the longer term. Anything else is irrelevant and I would leave it out. In particular, it is hard to see how medical reports written when you were a baby speak to the medical situation as it is today, now that you are an adult.

    You hear of people sending in years or even a lifetime of medical notes, copies of MRI scans, test results and the like in a desperate attempt to establish a finely detailed medical timeline. That sort of detail is very unlikely to be relevant and the chances are that much of this material was never even looked at - especially copy scans which might have been costly to obtain and which might go nowhere near a medical professional who has the skills and experience to interpret the information fully.


    It is far more likely that the problem with a partly or completely unsuccesful claim was a failure to give clear and consistent explanations about the problems the claimant faced with the PIP activities and how these problems were caused by their health conditions, rather than inadequate medical evidence.


    In any legal argument - and a claim for benefit is a legal argument - the next most important thing after deciding what to put in is deciding what to leave out. You don't want the important points of your claim lost amongst a lot of medical records of questionable relevance.

    A common error is for people to believe that their diagnosis and the medical evidence speaks for itself. You can take two people who are totally blind, but the functional effects of that blindness will differ according to how well they have adapted to their blindness, their use of aids and adaptations, the help they have and many other factors. That illustrates why a decision maker cannot make assumptions - you have to tell them what you want taken into account.

    As @poppy123456 says, do not fall into the trap of pointing out any error, inconsistency or, if you prefer the word, lies, in the assessor's report and decision maker's reasoning. Your job is to make the case for the award of benefit, attempting to persuade the decision maker that your submission is more likely than not correct, not to pick holes in DWP's conclusions.

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