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Been refused Mobility

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8 months 4 weeks ago #288349 by CT
Been refused Mobility was created by CT
Received a standard award 10 pointsfor daily living but only 4 points for mobility.

Under moving around. They ruled out only being able to walk 20 - 50 meters because evidence showing I manage with moderate med for pain relief. they have considered That even if slow walking pace is assumed, this is considered to be up to 40 metres per minute. From reported exercise tolerance, I can reasonably manage distances between 50-200 metres reliably and repeatedly even at the lower end of the range.

I have struggled with Non Hodgkin lymphoma since 2015, been on targeted therapy since 2018 after Chemo didn’t work, I also have Emphysema, arthritis in hands and hips.
Pleural effusion.

I’m ok with the daily living award even though I have 0 points for things I felt I would score for but the mobility score of 4 is terrible, I just feel they have made it up. The only pain killers I take are pregabalin. If I tried to walk after taking them I’d fall over anyway.

I just dont have the energy to appeal and it’s so wrong.







Can they just guess like this?

I can’t do any exercise and told them so.

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8 months 4 weeks ago #288382 by BIS
Replied by BIS on topic Been refused Mobility
Hi CT

I'm sorry that you have found yourself in this position. Their job is to decide whether what people say at assessment, the form and the additional evidence they submit is enough to award against the specific PIP criteria. In making that judgement - some of it comes down to weighing up information which often appears to amount to guesswork. Did the comment about your mobility come from the assessor's report or the decision letter? If it came from the report, can you think of anything you said that may have given the impression you could walk further? I know you told them you don't take exercise - but I don't know whether that means you never leave the house.

The assessors have an obsession with medication and how much people take, and that often seems to disadvantage people who take a lower amount.

I know you don't want to appeal now - but if that's because you're not well enough - you could if you feel able to do it put in a request for a late MR later on. (Late MRs are not automatic).

BIS

Nothing on this board constitutes legal advice - always consult a professional about specific problems

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8 months 3 weeks ago #288475 by CT
Replied by CT on topic Been refused Mobility
Hi

Thanks for your reply. It is written in the assessors report. They seem to have awarded standard daily element for my Lymphoma only. I told the assessor that I only go out with my husband maybe once a month for breakfast or lunch and he questioned me about how I get from the car to where we are going. I replied that we only go places where we can park near the entrance and if we can’t park close we leave. He then asked me how far is the car from our front door, I said about 5ft as our front garden is now our car park. Cant remember what else he asked

From reading the report it seems my arthritis and emphysema have largely been ignored, for example I remember saying during the assessment that most days I will have a pre made sandwich for lunch that my husband buys, I cant use the oven, can use microwave but it’s not really safe as risk of dropping food and burning my hands, but I have been assessed as being able to use microwave.

I have ordered a external drive so I can listen to the disk recording but it seem pointless as most recommendations and decisions are based on low meds.

I’m sure I read somewhere that assessors should not assume low meds is an indication of pain levels and severity of conditionand that the assessor should ask about pain but don’t recall any questions about pain, anyway I’m probably wrong.

Maybe it’s lack of evidence, although the decision report says the information they have is the best available and enough to decide how much help I need which is obviously not the case as they refer to based on evidence for their decision.

Apologies for the ramble.

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8 months 3 weeks ago #288493 by Gordon
Replied by Gordon on topic Been refused Mobility
CT

One thing to consider.

They have used empirical evidence in denying your claim for Mobility, can you use it yourself to undermine their Decision?

Mark out a distance; outside if you can but inside will still work, walk it counting the repeats so you know the total distance walked before you have to stop.

Time it so you can calculate your walking speed.

Document what impact it has on you then and in the coming days.

Repeat as often as you feel capable so you have a range of data to present to the DWP.

Gordon

Nothing on this board constitutes legal advice - always consult a professional about specific problems

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8 months 3 weeks ago #288600 by CT
Replied by CT on topic Been refused Mobility
Thanks for the reply. I am just going through the transcription of the assessors report so will do this first. I will try to do as you suggested and use it as evidence.

Many thanks

For your help

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6 months 5 days ago #291593 by CT
Replied by CT on topic Been refused Mobility
Hi Gordon

Just thought I would update you re the above. I wasn’t going to bother with a MR, but the comment by the assessor about the reported exercise tolerance really wound me up, so at the last minute I decided to do a MR. I didn’t get technical I just asked them to explain about the reported exercise tolerance, as this was not discussed during my assessment. I also pointed out that they appeared not to take in to consideration my emphysema when calculating how far they think I can walk. I said I know it must be be difficult for the assessor when they are asking questions whilst typing all through the conversation, and all I know for certain is that I can not walk 200 meters without needing to stop and rest etc.

Received a telephone call last Tues and was asked if I can walk the length of 1 double decker bus, I said I think I could but wouldn’t be able to do it repeatedly. I was asked if My award was increased if any back money could be paid into my account. The good news is that I have received a lump sum so am assuming my MR was successful, can’t work out if it is for enhanced mobility or standard mobility and an uplift from standard daily living to enhanced, using your calculator enhanced mobility generates a closer match to whats been paid in. Either way I’m delighted.

Thank you for your encouragement and all the information available that supports people.

King regards

CT
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