59 year old failed 2nd medical for ESA after passing first....

chinna
chinna Posts: 89 Forumite
edited 17 March 2011 at 11:58PM in Benefits & tax credits
Hi,
My dad got a letter today after his Atos medical assesment last week and scored 0. Last year he scored 20. He has severe arthritis and walks with a walking stick. So his ESA will stop from today.

I went with my dad last week for the assesment has my dad does not speak english and I was told that I could not go in with him as a interperter had been booked and there was not enough space in the room, even though we did not request an interperter and also I had taken a day off work to translate for him. The recepionist was very rude and it came across as if they had planned for me to not go in as my dad stated in his form that I would be coming with him. Eventually after a long chat they let me go with him.

I just wanted to share this experience and get advice to the best way to make my dads appeal as he his in shock, through a solicitor etc. Thanks for any help.
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Comments

  • FTW
    FTW Posts: 8,682 Forumite
    chinna wrote: »
    Hi,
    My dad got a letter today after his Atol medical assesment last week and scored 0. Last year he scored 20. He has severe arthritis and walks with a walking stick. So his ESA will stop from today.

    I went with my dad last week for the assesment has my dad does not speak english and I was told that I could not go in with him as a interperter had been booked and there was not enough space in the room, even though we did not request an interperter and also I had taken a day off work to translate for him. The recepionist was very rude and it came across as if they had planned for me to not go in as my dad stated in his form that I would be coming with him. Eventually after a long chat they let me go with him.

    I just wanted to share this experience and get advice to the best way to make my dads appeal as he his in shock, through a solicitor etc. Thanks for any help.

    Get a copy of the medical report that's instigated the decision, and look at appealing the decision.

    If you find transparent lies on the report, which you more than likely will, then look at obtaining medical evidence (doctors, specialists, etc) that disputes what's said on that report.

    Also, if he ever has to attend another assessment, it's worth secretly audio-recording it (he CAN do this!).

    The recording - and/or a transcript of that recording - will make his case for contesting the report (if the report's a duff one) much stronger if the appeal reaches the tribunal stage.

    The DWP may reconsider before it gets that far, but that's a very remote possibility - and not something I've ever known to happen in cases I'm aware of (myself, friends, acquaintances).

    And if it gets to tribunal, and the tribunal reverse the DWP decision, then it's also worth reporting the assessor to the GMC and the BMA - with a stopover gap to the Information Commissioner's Office, due to Atos inaccurately processing data likely to cause harm.
  • paddedjohn
    paddedjohn Posts: 7,512
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    why cant he speak english?
    Be Alert..........Britain needs lerts.
  • allen35
    allen35 Posts: 1,516 Forumite
    paddedjohn wrote: »
    why cant he speak english?

    Chinese perhaps..
    Forums can be/are a good guide to entitlement and it is good practice to back it up with clarification from the relevant department/specialist with written confirmation to safeguard yourself.
  • Oldernotwiser
    Oldernotwiser Posts: 37,425 Forumite
    Just because he walks with a stick, doesn't mean that he can't do any work. I think it's really accommodating of the organisation that an interpreter was arranged; I can't see how you could object to that.
  • I too think that arranging the interpreter was good customer service.

    They will be looking to see if there is ANY work he can do, not just physical work.

    If he fails again, he will have to go onto Jobseekers' Allowance until he is old enough to claim Pension Credit, sometime after he is sixty. Once he is on pension Credit, there will be no requirement to look for work.

    Find the age he will be eligible for Pension Credit from this link:

    http://pensions-service.direct.gov.uk/en/state-pension-age-calculator/home.asp
    (AKA HRH_MUngo)
    Member #10 of £2 savers club
    Imagine someone holding forth on biology whose only knowledge of the subject is the Book of British Birds, and you have a rough idea of what it feels like to read Richard Dawkins on theology: Terry Eagleton
  • krisskross
    krisskross Posts: 7,677 Forumite
    As he has failed to secure ESA then JSA is his only option. However the inability to speak English is going to be a huge problem. What sort of work did he do previously?
  • Mojisola
    Mojisola Posts: 35,551
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    chinna wrote: »
    My dad got a letter today after his Atos medical assesment last week and scored 0. Last year he scored 20. He has severe arthritis and walks with a walking stick.
    Just because he walks with a stick, doesn't mean that he can't do any work. I think it's really accommodating of the organisation that an interpreter was arranged; I can't see how you could object to that.

    Having severe arthritis doesn't just mean that you have to walk with a stick but are otherwise 100% fit.

    It's miraculous how someone could be "cured" in the space of a year, going from 20 points to being perfectly fit!

    chinna - you're going to have fight the decision. Follow FTW's advice. It would help to get an advisor involved. Appeals fought by advisors have a much higher success rate. See if your father's council has Welfare Officers (different councils use different names for these), or try CAB or DIAL.

    I think providing the interpreter was actually a good thing - trying to keep you out of the room was not. I wouldn't go to a medical with ATOS on my own. They knew you were coming with your father and should have made sure there would be enough room for all the people involved.
  • chinna
    chinna Posts: 89 Forumite
    edited 18 March 2011 at 10:44AM
    paddedjohn wrote: »
    why cant he speak english?

    He's been here over 40 years. Came to England when they needed manual workers and there was a shortage in the 60's. He never was confident to learn english. He has always done manual work. He regrets now he did not learn the language.
  • chinna
    chinna Posts: 89 Forumite
    allen35 wrote: »
    Chinese perhaps..
    Its easy when you are behind a keyboard.
  • Mrs_Arcanum
    Mrs_Arcanum Posts: 23,976
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    Make sure your dad applies for JSA and signs on regularly whilst the appeal is in progress. At least he will have some money coming in that way. Once his appeal is successful his money will be backdated.
    Truth always poses doubts & questions. Only lies are 100% believable, because they don't need to justify reality. - Carlos Ruiz Zafon, The Labyrinth of the Spirits
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