Dla new rules and atos medicals

atrixblue.-MFR-.

sunnyone wrote: »

You do know that if you appeal you can lose this award?

it can and has happened, but i dont know if that is because people have submitted a written appeal though, and all the tribunal panel had was the DWP evidence and couldnt ask question to the claimant.

tammajock

atrixblue.-MFR-. wrote: »

hi tammerjock, relax, frustrating as it is, TRIBUNALS are seperate from the DWP. diagnosis isnt what gets you dla (but a diagnosis helps) care and mobility needs is.

the medical evidence is what aids the decision maker (or supposed to) as to what level of the diagnosis your wife have they then refure key point question to thier medical adviser for his opinion (this person never have assesed your wife or even seen her) and is easily discredited at a tribunal.

if you listed the epilepsy as her main condition many secondary conditions usually are ignored by the DM hence why they said that epilepsy was the only factor they considered.

getting a benefits expert who can reprasent like i did will help no end as they can ask the tribunal to bear in mind a certain case law in each diagnosis ask for the level of DLA you may want awarded, and can assess at the time of any error of law at the tribunal.

at the tribunal the doctor on the panel will ask most of the questions and you and your wife or reprasentative will be able to tell him what you want considered. the main panel member the judge will aslo want to ask a few questions and then a carer professional will ask questions based on your wifes care needs.

a DWP reprasentative wasnt at the tribunal?

and i was awarded the level they deemed i was entitled to.

they were polite, understanding, didnt try and "trick me" as some people may report.

i asked for water and they sent me out for a break, then the judge came out and got my reprasentative he was in the room five mins putting key points to consider then made a decision and that was that.

so what i'm trying to say is that eventhough the DWP refused and the ATOS report may have sounded as if you were lieing (not that im saying you are mind) forget that get help and concerntrate on the tribunal now.

Cheers for the reply and help, it was always said to us through the dla's helpline that she would get exactly what shes entitled to and not to worry but having read all these horror stories on this forum as well as reading daily papers and you cant read one nowadays as its cuts here and cuts there. I put trust in the system and yet it was not just a slap in the face but a kick in the nether regions. It could be true that the atos doctor could and should be dicredited but it doesnt take away the fact that the report will always be on the wifes file and for every review irrespective of the indefinate award, every review and descision maker is going to see the lies made and done by this atos doctor. I have an appointment with the wifes gp tomorrow and he said that he will help with a detailed report with regards to the appeal and I have a appointment on monday for the civil lawyer. Having been told that again due to cutbacks that there have been welfare rights officers in the area being made redundant through the cutbacks. ironic?

tammajock

sunnyone wrote: »

You do know that if you appeal you can lose this award?

Appeals, re-considerations and tribunals...time and more time. I thought that in this country that you are innocent until PROVEN guilty? What the dla are intent in doing is determined to disregard clinical findings and are taking atos doctors opinions regardless of the lack of evidence. Nobody is goin to convince me otherwise to the fact that this is purely based on cost cutting measures and irrespective of any condition and care needed, everyone is fair game!, we , as a nation have got to stand against these bullying tactics and scaremongering. Ive got to laugh when they say during phone calls that they have my wifes best interests at heart

Newly_retired

This might help you prepare for your appeal.
http://www.advicenow.org.uk/advicenow-guides/problems-with-benefits/turned-down-for-dla-aa-think-youre-not-getting-enough/
Good luck!

tammajock

Newly_retired wrote: »

This might help you prepare for your appeal.
http://www.advicenow.org.uk/advicenow-guides/problems-with-benefits/turned-down-for-dla-aa-think-youre-not-getting-enough/
Good luck!

Many thanks

atrixblue.-MFR-.

tammajock wrote: »

Appeals, re-considerations and tribunals...time and more time. I thought that in this country that you are innocent until PROVEN guilty? What the dla are intent in doing is determined to disregard clinical findings and are taking atos doctors opinions regardless of the lack of evidence. Nobody is goin to convince me otherwise to the fact that this is purely based on cost cutting measures and irrespective of any condition and care needed, everyone is fair game!, we , as a nation have got to stand against these bullying tactics and scaremongering. Ive got to laugh when they say during phone calls that they have my wifes best interests at heart

i know how you feel and reading up on cut backs and new reg to this and new implementation of that doesnt help you the fact is they arent here yet and not implemented.

ask youself this why is a qualified medical individual earning like 30k a year with atos doing assessments day in day out when they could be running a GP surgery earning well more than that?

disregard what the DWP finds, the only way to disprove them is to do it at a tribunal who ARE not BIASED as i once said moons ago (so retract that statements) and are there infact to more or less decide what level your entitled to based on evidence,GP,consultant,health professional, and case law.

i know that you maybe totally fed up with they way things have turned out.
but you have to pass that and think ahead, prepare,gather evidence on all conditions from profesionals, that support your wifes conditions and more importantly care and mobility needs, there needs to be evidence of care and mobility needs from then rather than diagnosis, dont know about you but has your GP been out to you and your wife in recent years, the wont know her mobility and care needs, so you and your wife need to update these regular i do with my GP he hasnt been to see me when i'm ill in about 15-16 years, so i tells him what i struggle with everyday it helps him build the picture of my condition also whether its getting better or worse.

please dont beat yourself up, and were here to help you, if you'd like to vent out and relieve youself of some of this you can let rip in the praise,vent and warnings forum, then when your a bit calmer you can comeback here for guidance, i dont mean this in a nasty way, but will prevent your thread being moved there and lose out on helpfull advice and support offered to you and your wife.

we can help you at everystage of even if its just to give you moral support and comfort that your headed in the correct direction, hey you may even give us some info we do not know.

cit_k

atrixblue.-MFR-. wrote: »

ask youself this why is a qualified medical individual earning like 30k a year with atos doing assessments day in day out when they could be running a GP surgery earning well more than that?

Benefitsandwork got the pay rates per different type of medical, and worked out if an assessor did a normal amount of assessments they could be earning around 100K a year, more if they worked longer hours/faster etc.

tammajock

atrixblue.-MFR-. wrote: »

i know how you feel and reading up on cut backs and new reg to this and new implementation of that doesnt help you the fact is they arent here yet and not implemented.

ask youself this why is a qualified medical individual earning like 30k a year with atos doing assessments day in day out when they could be running a GP surgery earning well more than that?

disregard what the DWP finds, the only way to disprove them is to do it at a tribunal who ARE not BIASED as i once said moons ago (so retract that statements) and are there infact to more or less decide what level your entitled to based on evidence,GP,consultant,health professional, and case law.

i know that you maybe totally fed up with they way things have turned out.
but you have to pass that and think ahead, prepare,gather evidence on all conditions from profesionals, that support your wifes conditions and more importantly care and mobility needs, there needs to be evidence of care and mobility needs from then rather than diagnosis, dont know about you but has your GP been out to you and your wife in recent years, the wont know her mobility and care needs, so you and your wife need to update these regular i do with my GP he hasnt been to see me when i'm ill in about 15-16 years, so i tells him what i struggle with everyday it helps him build the picture of my condition also whether its getting better or worse.

please dont beat yourself up, and were here to help you, if you'd like to vent out and relieve youself of some of this you can let rip in the praise,vent and warnings forum, then when your a bit calmer you can comeback here for guidance, i dont mean this in a nasty way, but will prevent your thread being moved there and lose out on helpfull advice and support offered to you and your wife.

we can help you at everystage of even if its just to give you moral support and comfort that your headed in the correct direction, hey you may even give us some info we do not know.

Many thanks on your help and advice, more so with the vent and anger. Me as the man, husband , care and so-called rock for which this stress and worry on all fronts, i have to admit that i am waining and feel vulnerable on what and how to go forward. I have no back-up or support and its not a case of feeling sorry for ourselves as the latest award of mrc and lrm is similar money to what we were enjoying anyway but its for the fact that I know the help that my wife demands because of her care needs. The very fact that I have to be around her because of her disabilities throughout the day and my sons lifes have deteriorated because we are limited to what we can do as a family. We dont have the pleasure of going for a walk or playing active games and such like. I apologise to all comments made if taken in any offense yet i will defend my corner to accusations being made as these people dont know me or my situation. I also apologise for how i can put things across and my dyslexia in paragraphs, spelling and wording. I am at a total loss and feel I am banging my head against a brick wall. I want to stand out the back door and just shout scream or basically just cry but im just being honest yet it is left with me to be strong for the wife and the kids. regards

dori2o

Unfortunately this all stems from the fact that the ATOS medicals, and indeed the doctors that do the medicals, are not fit for purpose.

I can fully understand where you are comming from with your fear of what their decision would be.

My dad went for a medical for ESA, I went with him to help him get to the assessment centre.

My dad has 5 prolapsed disks in his back, 3 at the top and 2 at the bottom. He also hasAnkylosing spondylitis, Sciatica, IBS, his tendons have fused to the bones in his shoulder and he has no feeling down his left side. All symptoms related to wear and tear on his body from him working in the building industry and paying his taxes/NI etc from the age of 15 to 55 with very few days sick or out of work in between.

The Doctor we saw produced a report full of lies and 'opinions'.

My dad has been told by his GP of 20 years, and his 3 hospital consultants, that the likelyhood of him returning to any form of work is less than 5%

The Doctor from ATOS said in his report that my dad entered the room and opened the door with no problems, that he attended the medical alone, that he sat in a chair took his coat and shoews off with no problems and was able to climb onto a bed.

Blatent lies. I attended the medical with him. i helped him walk to the room and the doctor opened the door. I had to help my dad get into and out of the chair, I helped him get his coat and shoes on and off and helped him onto the bed.

The ATOS doctor claimed that in his opinion, my dad would be fit for work within 6 months.

The whole process is a joke and is picking on the genuine people that need help ionstead of weeding out those who cheat the system, and are continuing to cheat the system.

All i can say to anyone who has one of these medicals is to take some kind of recording device with you to keep as evidence in case the report that comes back is false.

cit_k

kaya wrote: »

Phone the DWP today and ask to begin the official complaints procedure against atos if you are unhappy with the decision/decision-maker, then refuse to have anything more to do with atos due to the nature of your inpending complaint, then make an appointment with your local conservative MP to go to their walk in surgery to sort the matter out, i did, within 3 days of making the appointment(i never actually got to see my mp) a young man from the dwp phoned me and sorted everything out to my satisfaction, he was polite and courteous and very understanding, also when my ib renewal came up i mentioned my ongoing complaint and the award was once again renewed without any intervention from an atos or their so called medical professionals, despite what they tell you YOU DO NOT HAVE TO DEAL WITH ATOS. I have never even seen an atos doctor but got my DLA renewed for 5 Years.

You cannot refuse to have anything to do with atos (well you can in one very unusual circumstance).

If they wanted to send you to atos for a medical, and you refused, your benefit would stop.

No if's, no buts.

Thats not to say, pointing out you dont want anything to do with them may not influence the decision over whether you are sent to them, but if they do want to send you, you have no choice.