PIP MR - reasons many fail and how to win?

Hi Mitch

I think it's impossible to say exactly what the people who win their MRs have in common except to say that they are able to show that they meet the criteria for PIP. Sometimes, assessors ignore information, or they don't understand the implication of information they have been given, or they apply their own views on what people are able to do, which is completely erroneous. Sometimes, a claimant simply has to go through the report and highlight where the assessor has said something and show why it is wrong by highlighting what they said or highlighting evidence they had already submitted.

The DWP and the assessors are notorious for ignoring the medical advice from medical professionals, including GPs and consultants from every medical field imaginable. So I can't tell you whether one letter or two letters will make a difference. The mistake that claimants often make is not to link the letters of the professionals to the PIP criteria. So for example - you can have a letter that says a claimant has severe arthritis that restricts their mobility. It's great to have that letter, but it's easy for the DWP to ignore the implications unless it's pointed out to them. So when people are talking about their inability to prepare a meal because of pain and lack of mobility - they should also say something like... "See letter from Dr X, confirming mobility problems, dated X." This makes it much easier for a non-medical person to understand that the evidence is there. What we, as claimants, think is obvious is not always obvious to the reader.

So I would say that there could be any number of reasons why someone wins their Mandatory Reconsideration - but it is hard to say exactly what the tipping point is other than they have proved they do reach the eligibility for an award and the assessor and decision maker were wrong in their initial judgment.

BIS

M

They can but not so much at the reassessment stage, they are far more valuable if an appeal is required but that is no reason not to submit them.

Have you asked your GP for support? They may not be willing to help but if they are then there is a GP Notes document in the PIP section that will give structure to what they might say.

GP letters and referrals can be useful, if you don't have copies then you can request copies from your surgery, this should be a free service.

Gordon