Incapacity benefit - Tribunal advice needed

bbq72 · 15 January 2009 at 7:50PM

I do hope someone can offer some advice.

My husband has been on Incapacity Benefit since 1994. He suffers from Chronic Psychotic Illness and takes anti-psychotic medication and anti-depressants.

When he was asked to complete the form with details of his illness he filled it in stating he suffered from depression and anxiety attacks as he was unsure of his medical diagnosis – naivety on my party – I SHOULD HAVE CONTACTED OUR DOCTOR.

He had previously been to medical examination 2 years previous and his IB was continued. (for information, we’ve received a statement saying that his last medical information has been “lost”). However, he was called again in October to attend another medical exam and subsequently failed – receiving only 7 points!. When we got the report back from the doctor we were dumfounded to say the least! He has described my husband’s typical day and to say it is false is an understatement. He has my husband as a clean freak/tv/computer fanatic who socialises daily(!) and is in daily contact with his friends and family. I won’t bore you with all the details but my husband leaves the house ONCE a week when he endures a 10 min bus ride to our local supermarket where I meet him and we do the weekly shop on my way back from work. He does NOT socialise at all – he has no ‘friends’. His parents will call occasionally to check how he is – we visited them TWICE last year – we haven’t visited his brother in THREE years – and he only stays 20 miles away! My husband felt he was badgered into saying just anything to get the doctor off his back – eg the doctor asked if he liked sport, my husband replied he did not have any interest in sport, but the doctor pursued this and against asked what sport he watched and then sat saying nothing, my husband became extremely uncomfortable and said that when the Olympics was on and his wife was watching he would stop for 5 minutes to see what was going on - this has been interpreted as “avid sports fan”. I could go on…

Anyway, our doctor has provided a statement advising that of my husband’s illness but will not provide a medical report unless approached by the Tribunal Service. We have contacted the CAB and the lady advised she will get us in 10 days before the Tribunal to go through the forms. We have not received any contact since November 2008.

So we’re pretty much in limbo at the moment.

My husband’s mental condition is extremely unstable, one minute he’s full of the joys, the next he is desperately morose. I try to be as supportive as I possibly can – but he’s in a very negative frame of mind and is convinced everything is turning against him and the tribunal will be a waste of time.

If anyone could suggest a way forward from here I would be grateful. I don’t know what else to do to get medical backup, the correct advice etc.

stacey777 · 16 January 2009 at 1:10AM

if his condition is a serious disorder then you should get the Gp to write a report he is your best bet i woul say and if he has a specialist then i would try and get a report from them and maybe attend the doctor in the meantime for a check on your husbands current condition. Either way if he is deemed better by the gp then that must be an improvement and if not then i he may need to be referred mean time and get a proper diagnoses see how it goes but whatever happens dont worry too much about it just get advice and take the action you need to and all you can do is tray and get them to take your husbands condition seriously it sounds like he must be quite bad if he is on anti psycotics.

Get to the GP in the meantime anyway? all the best with it

black_paw · 16 January 2009 at 2:28AM

has he been to hospital ? perhaps there are some reports there .do you have a social worker in his illness area that can give you a report ? you can pay for a doctor's /specialist private report from £25 - £50 ish ,a lot of money , but worth it to show as proof of illness. even a statement from family saying why they have'nt visited could help. good luck to you both

bbq72 · 16 January 2009 at 3:49PM

hi stacy777 and jamle.

thanks to you both for your advice.

the doctor won't write a report for us although we've asked him a few times now. he has very kindly written a letter of support stating my husbands condition and that he's unfit for work. he also gave him a sick line with unlimited time. the doctor thinks that should be enough although we're not convinced.

we hadn't thought of asking his parents for a letter - we'll do that for sure.

he just got a letter in this morning telling him that his tribunal will be on 13th february. a friday.

thanks again,

bbq72

Associate · 16 January 2009 at 4:53PM

bbq72 wrote: »

hi stacy777 and jamle.

thanks to you both for your advice.

the doctor won't write a report for us although we've asked him a few times now. he has very kindly written a letter of support stating my husbands condition and that he's unfit for work. he also gave him a sick line with unlimited time. the doctor thinks that should be enough although we're not convinced.

we hadn't thought of asking his parents for a letter - we'll do that for sure.

he just got a letter in this morning telling him that his tribunal will be on 13th february. a friday.

thanks again,

bbq72

Hi there,

You should try and get hold of a letter from your husband's Psychologist/Psychiatrist if he has one, if not find out where your local mental health organisation is based, explain the situation and see if they would write a letter of support, as they will be sympathetic.

Get a letter from your local Councillor and MP, ask your MP in particular to write a strong and firm letter, emphasizing the strain all of this is adding to your husband's mental health.

I think if you can get a letter from these sources and write a letter yourself, mentioning your husband's condition and the stress all of this is adding to his already delicate and vulnerable state, causing his health to deteriorate rather than improve and if they are prepared to accept responsibility for this, not only should his Incapacity Benefit be restored with the correct points, but he may not have to attend the Tribunal as it will be causing him unnecessary stress and anxiety.........act fast though!

Regards,

Jay

tatiepot · 17 January 2009 at 12:50AM

Hi BBQ72, thought it might help if I explained our situation.Well 7 years ago my husband had the same diagnosis, he was in hospital for 3 months while they tried to find medication that suited.Anyway, at that time I applied for DLA twice and was turned down, I guess part of it was that he was classed as still working.Indeed he went back to work for a time but couldn't cope, and has recently been retired early from work. Well, 3 years ago i was told he was suffering from schitzophrenia and bi-polar disorder, infact that had been their diagnosis 4 years prior, No-one told me, I was shocked to say the least.Anyway, eventually I got in touch with Welfare Rights and it is purely down to them that he obtained DLA. I guess, what I am saying is, even though labels are horrible things ( I may well get blasted for this but it is entirely my own opinion), when eventually my poor DH was labelled, all of sudden, things did change. People actually listened. I think it is wrong but that is what happened. With regard to his medication, anti-psychotics are the cruelist medication in the world and have the severest side effects, like Tardive Dyskinesia which my husband has just acquired. To my mind that should be enough reason for someone to have a claim to DLA as the side effects are horrific.I could go into more detail, but you want to know about DLA, it is there to help anyone who needs extra care or has mobility needs but I do believe , if DLA have a peg to hang a hat on i.e. something with a title/label they look more closely. I wish you well and hope all goes well.If I can help please feel free to PM me.

bbq72 · 18 January 2009 at 5:24PM

Thanks again for the advice. Going to write a letter to our local MP and hand it to him tomorrow. Can anyone help with the wording of this letter - I'm not too sure what I should be asking. This is a very stressful time in our lives.

Associate · 19 January 2009 at 9:02PM

bbq72 wrote: »

Thanks again for the advice. Going to write a letter to our local MP and hand it to him tomorrow. Can anyone help with the wording of this letter - I'm not too sure what I should be asking. This is a very stressful time in our lives.

Don't know if you've seen your MP yet........don't worry too much about the letter, if you speak to the MP or his/her Assistant, they can draft a letter for you in a professional manner. Just tell them to include:

*Your husband's condition and how it effects his life

*How long he has been suffering

*The unprofessional, inconsiderate, ill-informed and unfair manner his Medical Examination was conducted

*The stress this caused to his already delicate state

*The impact this is continuing to have on his health

*The stress and aggravation that is being added to you

*The Tribunal will be causing him unnecessary stress and is only due to the fact that the Medical Examination wasn't conducted properly

*The Medical Examiner, Incapacity Benefit Dept are the cause of this due to their
insensitive and unprofessional behaviour

*They should limit the damage caused and rectify this ASAP so that your husband can have some sort of peace

Your letter can just be a simple cover letter entitled "complaint", attach it with the GP's letter and the MP's letter and send a copy each to the Manager of Incapacity Benefit (get their name) and Tribunal Dept by Royal Mail Guaranteed Next Day Delivery.

Hopefully he will be excused from the ordeal of a Tribunal and have his full benefit restored.

Let us know how it turns out.

Regards,

Jay

black_paw · 20 January 2009 at 2:36AM

please get some help , i won my tribunals with the help of a disability help centre , they did all form filling, phone call ,fax and spoke for me a tribunal . if you get there help i think you get more browny points. as these disabilty centre's don't take you on unless you ill .so if there helping you ,you must be ill .. good luck

munchings-n-crunchings · 20 January 2009 at 10:14AM

Hello bbq72,

I would second the advice from Associate.
I would enclose any medical reports, and the additional information regarding if you husband should have been assessed in the first place.

It might also be an idea to copy the letter to the offices to the government departments dealing with you. I know it will be a lot of copying and printing. But it will be worth it to rattle a few cages.

Regards

Munchie

mallard · 20 January 2009 at 2:36PM

Sorry to hear about your experience. I accompanied my ex to a few of the medicals and the docs were fine. Other posters are offering you advice which is really great and should help you. However if you feel the medic has falsely documented the responses during the interview then i strongly suggest you make a complaint to the company that employs him/her (this is usually Atos on behalf of the Dept Work and Pensions). Also you should complain to the General Medical Council. Misrepresenting or making erroneous records is a serious offence and (if proved) could result in disciplinary action against the doctor. I know some people get a little concerned about this but i have no qualms (i am a nurse and would certainly expect to be disciplined if i ever made any remarks that were factually incorrect) about doing this. It would also show you mean business and are not going to accept incorrect information being recorded about your husband (which in itself is a breach of data protection law).

If you need any help with this then please pm me

Good luck, Mallard

Incapacity benefit - Tribunal advice needed

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