Incapacity benefit - Tribunal advice needed

hjb123

bbq72,

I can sort of understand what you are going through. I failed a medical about 2 years since and had to go through the whole process of appealing, I did win my tribunal which was such a relief


When I got the report back I got a highlighter and went through it highlighting all the inconsistencies - it might also be worth writing them down on a piece of paper and say what was said etc

I had help from a benefits advisor in appealing and I dont think I could have managed without his help

If I remember correctly the doctor wrote a note for a small charge but cant remember how much etc

If/when you get to the tribunal stage try and go for an oral tribunal rather than a written one as they tend to get etter results (or they used to anyway)

Does your husband come into contact with any other health care professionals or anyone else who could write a letter of support/letter detailing how the illness affects him?


Good luck

j-lo1972uk

OP, I'm assuming that if your hubby is on medication and is quite unwell, that he has contact with Community Mental Health teams...get his Community Psychiatric Nurse/Social Worker on board, they might be able to write a letter supporting your tribunal as they often see the client more than the Consultant PSychiatrist....

Also, you could try the local mental health support group....or MIND (mental health charity who have good resources for claiming benefits), carers support groups (as this is causing yourself anxiety and stress as well as your husband) or the local Disability Information and Advice Line or CAB....I work in mental health and all these have been invaluable at one time or another to my patients when appealing a tribunal.....MIND and DIAL are pretty good....tho very busy....but keep trying....and of course, you might get some joy from your MP....

Good Luck

bbq72

many many thanks for all the advice folks. you don't know how much help you've all been.

we've got an appointment with welfare rights on friday morning so i'm getting as much info together as possible to take with us.

We've written to our MP and got a letter back within 2 days asking us to sign it for the data protection act so he can get the information he needs directly. So far we've got letters & an indefinite sick line from our doctor, letters from his parents, brother and brothers' girlfriend. i've printed off a lot off the info from websites etc you've suggested and highlighted the relevant areas too. I've included the info leaflets from his medication and highlighted where it says things like "antipsychotic medication for treatment of schizophernia type illnesses" and so on. we'll take all that with us on friday and i'll also hand it all in to the CAB next week too.

anything obvious to anyone that I've forgotten to incude?

love to you all,

bbq72

Associate

I'm sure you've got it covered...........make sure you keep a copy of all the letters and documents you will be submitting, including the letter your MP will be writing, it will come in handy for future reference if nothing else.

I think the key documents are letters from:

*Yourself on behalf of your husband giving an overview of your complaint and points of contention. Although if everyone else covers the main points, even this may not be necessary.

*GP

*Your husband's Mental Health Professional (Psychiatrist, Nurse, Mental Health Charity etc). If not, GP's letter should suffice.

*MP

*CAB or Welfare Rights

Overall, it seems you've got all the angles covered. As tough as it has been on you and your husband, hopefully once it all gets sorted, at least you now have a better idea of your rights and points of reference and you can have more confidence and peace of mind if situations like this were to arise in the future.

Don't worry or stress yourself.


Take care.

Jay

bbq72

thanks for that jay. :-)

forgot to mention that I've written a letter too and my husband kept a diary for 4 hours (the longest he could cope with writing what happens to him down) of how his illness affects him which i've printed out.

will let you know what they say on friday.

bbq72 xxx

munchings-n-crunchings

Hello bbq72,

You will be back on here soon, offering advice to others that find themselves in your position.
You'll look back in a months time, and realise what you have learnt, about rights, rules and benefits, all things you never expect that in a short period of time you have to become an expert in.

Good luck for Friday, just make some bullet point notes of things you need to say, and questions you need to ask.
It sounds like you are well prepared, just then carry that preparation forward to the tribunal.
You've done everything right,

Regards

Munchie

rockie4

I just wanted to say Good Luck and keep us posted.

My OH has just been diagnosed (this week) as bipolar so I might be asking for advice myself soon :rolleyes:

septemberblues

I might be wrong, but I am sure I read this week that a person on long-term antipsychotic medication is exempt from the IB PCA/IB50. I remember reading this as my son is on antipsychotic medication and has been for 5 years (he is in a psychiatric hospital) and I mentioned this to him.

If only I could remember where I read it!:rolleyes: I will check on the other forums that I read (disability ones) and see if I can find it.

munchings-n-crunchings

Hello septemberblues,

Here's the link regarding the anti psychotic medications and the exemption from the 'Capacity Assessment'. I found it the other day, and referred bbq72 to it.

We all seem to think along the same lines, it will be interesting what WR have to say.

http://www.benefitsnow.co.uk/incapacity/mentalillness.asp

Save it to your favourites, so you can find it next time

Regards

Munchie

bbq72

cheers everone, i'll let you all know how it goes at WR tomorrow morning.

here's hoping they can give us some positive advice.

have a great night everyone!

bbq72