Thanks Tommy. Good point about going back on ESA but that's a bit dodgy isn't it considering even I would say I am fit for some sort of work now, although with "treatment" for the sleep apnoea forthcoming sometime soon I suspect I won't be sleeping at all with a gum shield in my mouth!!!!!

Dodgy, how, why do you think that? It certainly isn't dodgy at all IMO, it's an option open to you, providing you can get fit notes up until the tribunal hearing if you think about it, it wasn't your fault that the medical member wasn't registered was it,? and that earlier tribunal decision no longer stands and has been set aside, so it's like it never happened, now, if you were still waiting for the tribunal hearing, would you of closed the ESA claim by choosing to claim JSA instead? just because you are seeing an improvement in one of your health conditions,? which may be temporary,(Which i hope doesn't turn out to be the case)

Re backdated payments I am not quite sure I understand what you mean? Sorry, I must have misread. As I understood it until you have your WCA you are at a starting rate of ESA?

 

If you then pass your WCA then they pay you the full rate ESA although I have no idea how much that is. Therefore I wondered if at the new Tribunal they declared that I was actually unfit for work at the time of my WCA then I assumed that possibly I would be paid backdated payments from at least the date of the WCA wherein the Tribunals eyes I would have been unfairly declared unfit for work, until at least the date of the original Tribunal if you get my meaning???!!!

ESA is payable at the pre-assessment rate up to the WCA F2F farce, And yes if you are found FFW the payments are suspended , and only resumed once the DWP receive the notice from HMCTS that you have applied to appeal and it has been accepted, (subject to valid fit note or backdated fit notes, If JSA is not claimed/paid in the interim period)

Should the tribunal decision side with the DWP's decision the ESA claim is ended normally, but if they the tribunal decide to award you either the SG or WRAG For a period of time they see fit, they inform DWP of that decision and they eventually will pay any back pay from the 13th week of your ESA claim, unless the WCA was done before the DWP's target time of 13 weeks from making a fresh claim to having the WCA

Well i did it read all the pages. I have to say Max i think have been wasted van driving ! The way you have battled this far has been IMO remarkable

Mind you i spent 35years doing heavy factory work, only to find after being finished due to ill health, i now find im a people person helping people when and where i can.

From what i have read i like you had trouble at the Job Centre, with front of house staff. My way of dealing with this was direct to the Manager, first by letter then and now by e-mail.

From my volunteering at a work club the JC Advisors are all different some nice and happy with job searches and some not, IMO thier bosses know this so make the ones signing on change who they see when signing on.

To say the least it is bitter sweet because I now (at the moment anyway) am free from Vertigo which is the main condition I was suffering from for over a year when I was claiming ESA although I do still suffer my secondary condition of Insomnia (recently diagnosed sleep apnoea).

It is unusual for sleep apnoea syndrome to cause insomnia - it usually results in hypersomnolence.

"Restless legs" and "sleep paralysis" are more commonly associated with insomnia, as fear of these can inhibit sleep.

Whilst both insomnia and sleep apnea usually give the problem of "poor quality sleep" and feeling tired all the time : insomnia is characterised by the sufferer not sleeping enough, while sleep apnoea causes both excessive tiredness and inappropriate sleeping (as the nervous system arousal caused by the apnoeic episodes means the sleep still "isn't enough")

Insomnia : not enough sleep, can't get to sleep, low Epworth score.

Sleep apnoea : too much sleep, too easy to get to sleep, but sleep not good enough quality, high Epworth Score.

Is your Epworth Score high or low?

Have you undergone a sleep study or polysomnography?

Have you had a MSLT (multiple sleep latency test)?

Hats off to you and bloody well done. If you've had the tribunal decision set aside without any legal help that's no mean feat in itself. I've only scanned through the thread so sorry if I've missed anything but I do think you have a good shot at another tribunal as it will be heard afresh with a new panel who may take a totally different view of the situation. It's all a game to them and from my own tribunal experiences I'm sure that it doesn't matter a jot what condition someone has it basically boils down to if your face fits how the judge is feeling on the day, and the other cronies on the panel just go along for the free ride.

Whether or not you are now getting better shouldn't really be relevant as the new tribunal and evidence will be based on your condition and the original paperwork at the time when you first applied and turned down. All I would say is get a good understanding of how the points system works and phrase your answers accordingly to tally with what the law says is required to achieve the required points.

I wonder if your result will have any ramifications on other cases who have been refused as a result of this or other non registered dr's on the panel?

I like the comment "As it happens the medical member has subsequently retired in the normal course of events".

You've basically sacked a member of the tribunal. Bloody double well done

Hats off to you and bloody well done. If you've had the tribunal decision set aside without any legal help that's no mean feat in itself. I've only scanned through the thread so sorry if I've missed anything but I do think you have a good shot at another tribunal as it will be heard afresh with a new panel who may take a totally different view of the situation. It's all a game to them and from my own tribunal experiences I'm sure that it doesn't matter a jot what condition someone has it basically boils down to if your face fits how the judge is feeling on the day, and the other cronies on the panel just go along for the free ride.

 

Whether or not you are now getting better shouldn't really be relevant as the new tribunal and evidence will be based on your condition and the original paperwork at the time when you first applied and turned down. All I would say is get a good understanding of how the points system works and phrase your answers accordingly to tally with what the law says is required to achieve the required points.

 

I wonder if your result will have any ramifications on other cases who have been refused as a result of this or other non-registered dr's on the panel?

Well the cynical in me says unlikely that they will volunteer to do this for every case that medical member sat at as unregistered, but if they did, there could be winners and losers

And this new tribunal panel will as said only be concerned with how your conditions were affecting you on the day of the WCA and not how you are today, The same would apply if the condition had significantly worsened since the WCA or you now have newly diagnosed conditions, they are unable to consider these too

It is unusual for sleep apnoea syndrome to cause insomnia

 

 

 

 

Bazza. Epworth score was low and after two negative basic tests for Sleep Apnoea I had a full polysomnography back in January and it was decreed I stopped breathing with an AHI of 12. It seems I have an overbite with my jaw and as age creeps up the muscles aren't as good as they once were. The insomnia is created because on nights when I don't use sleeping tablets something is waking me up. Anything from a cough to a body jerk so it's possible I wake up as soon as I stop breathing. Therefore I lie awake and keep waking up as soon as I fall asleep. Makes for a very fractured night.

Thanks for the kind comments and help all. Sent the below email to my MP, to be fair the guy has been a great help.

Dear ,

Quite remarkably just over 24 hours after I received your email I received a letter from the HMCTS and as you will see from the letter (attached above) there did indeed seem to be an “oversight” with regard to the unregistered GP sitting on my Tribunal and that Tribunal decision has been set aside and I will be receiving a new Tribunal date some time in the future. I am extremely grateful and offer my thanks to you for looking into this situation for me, I do appreciate the time an effort you made.

Regardless of what the future decision may bring all I ever ask is that the process is fair and done according to law and it is quite disturbing that it was down to the efforts of myself and you as my local MP to point this error of law out to the DWP and the HMCTS. How many other people, especially vulnerable claimants, have had their Employment and Support Allowance or Personal Independent payments stopped due to similar “oversights”? Indeed it is very unlikely that my Tribunal was the only one that this particular “unregistered GP” sat on. 100’s possibly even 1000’s of people could have been affected by similar situations and this is very concerning because a majority of people I suspect would possibly not even think of checking whether the medical professional sitting on their Tribunal is actually qualified to be there. I am hopeful that you may be able to mention this to the Departments involved to hopefully ensure other claimants are not judged unfairly at any stage of the process due to errors not of their own making.

To be fair the whole process from start to finish is seriously flawed. For me to have to fight my own corner for more than a year, with appreciated help from yourself, whilst I am suffering health wise is grossly unfair. Why should unwell claimants have to spend all their time to look into the possibility of wrongdoing or errors made by the DWP or the HMCTS when what is needed is help and support? Surely at the best of times such a process should be made as stress free as possible but it is anything but.

The irony of the whole process is that since I was apparently found “fit for work” I have actually applied for three administration jobs within both the DWP and HMCTS and not even got past the test stage and yet it is I that has picked up such an error of law that has been overlooked by themselves!!!

I once again thank you very much for all your efforts in looking into this situation for me.

Kind regards,

I like the comment "As it happens the medical member has subsequently retired in the normal course of events".

You've basically sacked a member of the tribunal. Bloody double well done

But certainly well done regardless, at least one who shouldn't be sat on tribunal panels, has been eliminated

Bazza. Epworth score was low and after two negative basic tests for Sleep Apnoea I had a full polysomnography back in January and it was decreed I stopped breathing with an AHI of 12. It seems I have an overbite with my jaw and as age creeps up the muscles aren't as good as they once were. The insomnia is created because on nights when I don't use sleeping tablets something is waking me up. Anything from a cough to a body jerk so it's possible I wake up as soon as I stop breathing. Therefore I lie awake and keep waking up as soon as I fall asleep. Makes for a very fractured night.

With a low Epworth score & 2 negative (basic) sleep studies it's a good thing they went for the polysomnography and didn't write it off as "not sleep apnoea") ; as I noted, it doesn't sound 'typical'!

AHI of 12 is "only" mild, but:

a) IS sleep apnoea, and

b) is a "hard fact" if a Tribunal says "well insomnia and a low Epworth make sleep apnoea unlikely" : as it is documented sleep apnoea!

Did you get the polysomnography with the natty black & white (squares & lines) patterned duvet they video to check for 'restless legs'??

Did they spot any coughs / 'body jerks'?

If they could identify what is causing your sleep disturbance ... they might be able to treat it & reduce its severity.

Are they considering CPAP for the sleep apnoea if they think there is an obstructive component? It sounds like your sleep disorder is from more than one cause?

With a low Epworth score & 2 negative (basic) sleep studies it's a good thing they went for the polysomnography and didn't write it off as "not sleep apnoea") ; as I noted, it doesn't sound 'typical'!

AHI of 12 is "only" mild, but:

a) IS sleep apnoea, and

b) is a "hard fact" if a Tribunal says "well insomnia and a low Epworth make sleep apnoea unlikely" : as it is documented sleep apnoea!

 

Did you get the polysomnography with the natty black & white (squares & lines) patterned duvet they video to check for 'restless legs'??

Did they spot any coughs / 'body jerks'?

If they could identify what is causing your sleep disturbance ... they might be able to treat it & reduce its severity.

Are they considering CPAP for the sleep apnoea if they think there is an obstructive component? It sounds like your sleep disorder is from more than one cause?

No didn't get the natty black and white duvet but I do cough occasionally at night, and do experience the odd weird body jerk where it feels like I have been zapped with an electric cattle prod and that "in my head" was what tends to wake me up. Having said that recently I haven't had as much trouble with it and that's since all this benefit stuff and the sleep apnoea tests were sorted so I suspect a lot of it could be down to stress and worry. No CPAP considered at the moment just have to see an orthodontist to get a MAD (mandibular advancement device) made so will see how that goes. A small octopus on my face (CPAP) doesn't really appeal!!!

This is what the idiots at the DWP don't think of (or maybe they do) when you battle with them for months and months and that's the fact that with all the worry and stress you put yourself through you conditions can only get worse if anything!!

Well the saga continues. After receiving a date for a re appeal through the Upper Tribunal due to the unregistered GP sitting on my original Tribunal I today attended the Upper Tribunal and when I got to the venue I was informed that my Tribunal has been postponed!!!! Letter sent apparently last Thursday and obviously lost in post!!

Apparently for an Upper Tribunal they require a top level Judge and he/she had to take another case and the one that was going to stand in wasn't a top level Judge! It's like the Keystone Cops this mob!!

I thought I would be awkward and claim £4.19 in mileage and car park fee!!

6 months ago I would have been fuming but I find it pretty funny and quite sad now. Dealing with peoples lives and yet the whole system from top to bottom is a joke.....

I haven't read through all of the pages of posts, so appolgies if this has already been mentioned...

When you attend any assessment you do have the right to request that the appointment be recorded. This is exactly what I did and the 1st appt was cancelled because the equipment wasn't working on the day, you can refuse the appointment if it's not being recorded. At the end you will basically be given a CD containing a full recording of the assessment and have a complete and accurate account of it.

I also went online and purchased a little recording device that I used as well, and I set my phone to record and placed it on the desk in front of me (screen off)... The phone recording wasn't great, but the one I got from the 2nd device was, as was the recording they gave me.

Granted this was about 4yrs ago... But if it's recorded they simply cannot try to claim that you were told something or said something that never happened. So any attempt by them to make out you didn't inform them of something to justify refusing a claim is hard if not impossible to prove. If you appeal, send a copy of the assessment recording in with your appeal.

In my opinion, just asking for the assessment to be recorded is sending a clear message that you are aware of your rights and will have an accurate recoding of the assessment... I think it makes them think twice about simply refusing your claim as seems to be the norm... and hoping that you accept it rather than appeal it.

Hi Heckler,

Yep I had the WCA recorded so they had to postpone that because they didn't have a machine for the first date. To be honest I have no idea if the DWP or Tribunal listen to the tape themselves but despite me questioning some of the HCP's report the Tribunal "gave weight" to a majority of that report. Basically they are saying "yeah the HCP got bits wrong but we agree with most of it."

My biggest bugbear was that the HCP claimed that he had performed a balance test called a Romberg Test on me. Even I had to look up Romberg Test on Google when I heard the tape and he performed no such test. He also claimed that my leg muscles and arm muscles all looked fine and yet whilst I am not arguing that yeah hopefully my legs and arms do look fine how would he know without asking me to remove or roll up items of clothing. To be fair the state of my muscles have nothing to do with my condition at that time so if he had written "muscles not examined as not relevant to the condition" I would have had no issue with that. What I have an issue with is that whilst they trawl their way through an endless list they just tick the list off regardless of whether they have actually performed that task or not,. Then you get to the Tribunal and you say "He didn't perform the Romberg Test, but he said he did" and they say "but did he take your blood pressure, blah blah blah" and if you reply that he did then the Tribunal just say "Well the HCP got most of it right".

It doesn't help when the Tribunal's Statement of Reasons itself has inaccuracies. They had a right pop at conflicting evidence from my GP on two letters that he had written and yet he had only written one, the other letter was written by another GP several months apart so it would have been conflicting because symptoms do change. Yet here was a High Court Judge clearly not able to establish who had written what despite names and dates being perfectly visible on the letters. I mean do they even look at and read the evidence?!?!

Maybe I should have asked for my original Tribunal to have been recorded because the last thing the Judge said to me was "We find in favour of the DWP and find you fit for work, but off the record you have my sympathy because it's very unlikely that you will find an employer willing to employ you with your current conditions."

Well after all the tomfoolery in politics this week I thought I would share with you a letter I have decide to send to the Prime Minister regarding the draconian WCA etc that has alienated hundreds of thousands of people including myself. Probably a waste of time and won't receive a reply but I think it's taken me two years to get that off my chest!!

Dear Prime Minister,

After Thursday’s General Election I suspect that there is some shock in the Conservative Party that the party’s targets to run the country with a big majority were not reached. As a lifelong Conservative voter I thought I would write to you and tell you why I did not vote Conservative this time.

Back in April 2015 I was made redundant from my job as a Van Driver. Whilst in the midst of searching for a new job I was struck down with severe Vertigo (possibly Basilar Migraine) and Insomnia which made things extremely difficult for me.

Vertigo, if you are not aware, is a condition which affects your sight and balance. Think of watching a film which has been shot with a juddering hand held camera. That is what my vertigo was 24 hours a day. On top of the constant feeling of dizziness I also had several major vertigo attacks a week where everything spins violently and the sufferer has no choice but to sit or lie down with eyes closed until it passes. These major attacks could last anything from minutes to hours, so this is not a temporary condition; it is a 24 hour a day battle to walk in a straight line and attempt to lead some sort of a life. Try spinning around several times and see how you feel for the next few minutes? This is how I lived for over a year.

On top of the vertigo was insomnia which you will know is a condition which prevents you from sleeping. So severe dizziness for 24 hours a day and not getting any sleep, I am sure that you can understand that these conditions on their own do not promote a productive life let alone together!!

I have had many tests at hospitals and seen many consultants, some of these appointments are ongoing nearly two years down the line and with constant cancellations I am just pleased that it all seems to be non life threatening because I would probably not be here now!!

My GP (who has been a great support) decreed me not fit for work due to my conditions so I applied for Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) as the only option open to me. The starting rate of ESA is exactly the same as Jobseekers Allowance which is in the region of £70 per week. I have an outgoing monthly fuel bill of £100 per month, water bills totalling around £40 per month, Insurance payments, telephone and internet bills, food and other household bills and with due respect £70 per week does just not cover it. Even a Council Tax bill when being a single person and unable to work is still around £40 per month. It is a real struggle.

However the real struggle comes when you attend the disgraceful, barbaric and draconian Work Capability Assessment where a Healthcare Provider with absolutely no knowledge of your conditions decides that if you can make yourself a sandwich and walk 50 feet (even apparently not in a straight line) then you are fit for work!! In my case the Healthcare Provider lied about tests that he had done (when he hadn’t) , puts words into your mouth, writes untruths in his report and treats you quite frankly like a piece of dirt on his shoe. I am a strong person and nothing really upsets me but I was left shaken and degraded by this unbelievably barbaric experience.

I therefore then hear from the “delightful” Department of Work and Pensions and am officially deemed fit for work, although would you employ someone who is permanently spinning in their head, is permanently exhausted and might have to sit or lie down quietly for a large percentage of the day?! My option was a Mandatory Reconsideration which serves no purpose at all than some unqualified person in a suit deciding that the Healthcare Provider in a one hour assessment can overrule the findings of a General Practitioner and several expert Consultants after a series of rigorous tests over many months. The DWP claimed that my vertigo was controllable and treatable although my GP and consultants provided evidence that the vertigo is “NOT” treatable or controllable.

Whilst awaiting Mandatory Reconsideration you have to apply for Job Seekers Allowance and declare that you are fit for work, even though you are not!! When you appeal against the decision to an Independent Tribunal you can come off Jobseekers and go back onto the starting rate of ESA, although those at the Job Centre deny that you can so more lies and untruths.

I then after a few months attended the Independent Tribunal with an array of evidence from Doctors and Consultants and even a Work Recruitment Service called The Shaw Trust who had refused to help me find work because in their words “No one will employ you because of your conditions”. Unfortunately for me despite this overwhelming evidence the Tribunal voted in favour of the DWP and their one hour assessment!! Did I mention that I had vertigo attacks at both the assessment and the Tribunal?! Even the Judge at the Tribunal told me afterwards “off the record” that she had some sympathy for me because she knew that nobody would employ me! After all why would they – why would they employ someone who can’t walk in a straight line and will have to at some point lie in a dark room over someone who is fully fit and well?!

My only option at that point was to appeal to an Upper Tribunal if there was an “error of law”. It incredibly came in two parts where in a Statement of Reasons the Judge had got things terribly incorrect and also a medical practitioner who sat on my Tribunal was no longer registered with the General Medical Council, and apparently he legally should have been! So another Tribunal was arranged but upon visiting this Tribunal a few weeks ago I found out on attendance that it had been postponed!! I received the postponement letter four days after I had attended the venue!!

More recently I have had some recovery with the vertigo and whilst not perfect it is easier to deal with although the Insomnia is still an issue; however I accept that I am now fit for work. I sign on for Jobseekers Allowance and await a new date for the Tribunal which only concentrates on how my conditions were a year ago. Despite now being fit for work and sending over three hundred Job Applications I have had two, yes two, interviews and no offers of work. Indeed I even applied for several jobs within the Department of Work and pensions because I feel that they could do with someone with a bit of empathy but I couldn’t even pass their online test let alone get an interview!! So now fit for work and still can’t find a job, so how on earth was I expected to find an employer when I was wobbling around and seeing double?!

So why have I after a lifetime of voting Conservative changed my mind this time around? The answer is that as well as the incredibly depressing experiences outlined in this letter that nearly pushed me to take my own life I have had this vertigo condition before. It occurred when I was in my 20’s and it happened again 8 years ago. In my 20’s my parents helped me financially due to the illness. 8 years ago I was at the time self sufficient so I covered my period of ill health financially myself and did not claim any benefits. So this time around when I had no other option than to ask my Government for help did I receive it? The resounding answer is no, my Government have proved that they could not care less.

For your information I also suffer from partial deafness, Type 2 Diabetes, Arthritis of my hips and knees, Irritable Bowel Syndrome and since this entire saga started I developed high blood pressure. It may interest you to know that I have never claimed any sickness benefits for any of these conditions.

So in a nutshell when I need my Governments help one time only I was refused all help and treated like 1000’s of others who have had their sickness benefits slashed by these draconian measures which have led to hundreds if not thousands dying, some by taking their own lives. I have been treated like a benefits cheat, a piece of dirt on someone’s shoe, a person who does not matter at all and have had the DWP making up things as they go along just so they do not have to help one of their citizens in dire need of their Governments help.

Do I want to vote for a Conservative Government after all that? The answer is a resounding no and I suspect all sick and disabled people in this country feel the same.

With all due respect Prime Minister, you should be ashamed.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Max1968 Did you not know about the way the tories were treating sick and disabled before you claimed esa?

No to be honest Carly I didn't and that's half the problem with the situation as it seems you have to be in some way involved in the system to see how disgraceful it is. I was honestly shocked when all this started for me because I really had no idea. Even now we don't see enough in the mainstream media highlighting this issue so the general public just don't see what is going on so as I say there isn't enough publicity about it. I have to say I wouldn't mind getting involved in someway in helping others now I am on the road to recovery myself health wise but I wouldn't know how and where to start,.

Not sure how it was under Labour but I have read these forums and others from way back prior to 2012 and it seems it wasn't exactly plain sailing then either. In fact I had massive problems with a Job seekers claim under Labour when I was between jobs and the Job Centre staff seem as bad whatever party are in control. Personally I think they are all as bad as each other and this time around I didn't bother voting at all.

I am glad you are on the road to recovery as you say about being in the system thought I knew what was happening until I was in the system myself and started reading things.

I have did ok though first assessment I got paper based and put into support group second one last month I made a bit of a mess of the ESA50 due to my anxiety got called for a f2f and the assessor lied about what I said added in her own lies and left out evidence I handed to her which proved I should have stayed in support group and gave me 0 points luckily I got a decent decision maker when he phoned me to tell me to apply for jobseekers I told him some of the things she had left out he read the evidence I had handed to her overturned the decision and left my in support group he said unfortunately I will need to go through the process again in 12 months time but I am going to keep a copy of the letter he read so that I don't forget anything next time and hopefully make a better job of the ESA50 and get another paper based.

I didn't vote because I was on holiday but I would of voted labour not because I really wanted to but only because they are the second biggest party and the only chance of getting the tories out.

Maybe you could volunteer for CAB or somewhere like that I think they train you.

Under labour things were not really much better, IB still had an unfair PCA (personal capability assessment) and ATOS where given lots of money to cull the numbers claiming IB , though it was a bit more difficult for them to achieve this back then But when it was change to ESA and the WCA the cull rapidly increased under liebour , They weren't and still aren't the same party as they were back in the 70's back then they did speak for the working classes not any more I voted ukip and will again, because they where the only party that wanted any real change from the status quo,

the coalition of traitors LIB/LAB/CON aren't worth voting for

That's what I thought Tommy. Certainly not defending the Tories but I think sometimes Rose Tinted Spectacles sometimes play a part in Political Parties of the past.

Well it's me again!!!! So after over 250 Job Applications resulting in three (yes three) interviews since I was declared fit for work back in September my vertigo is back with a vengeance! Went to sign on this morning and of course they are getting a bit frustrated now because I have been on JSA for more than 6 months. Saw a new advisor because my usual is off sunning herself somewhere and he said that I apparently was awaiting a new Tribunal for ESA,. I told him part of the story and he was confused as to why I hadn't gone back on ESA whilst awaiting this Upper Tribunal. This was quite interesting because it's the same office who denied you could do this when I did exactly that last July/August. Of course my vertigo had cleared up so I had decided to just keep on JSA but now it's back I am not really sure what I should do?

Obviously I am awaiting this re dated Upper Tribunal due to the error of law outlined in my previous posts (when I get a date that is as it was postponed last month), which of course applies to how I was last May (that's May 2016) but now I am back off to the Doctor because of I will call it Phase 2 of this damn vertigo which has come back. Three interviews without vertigo so I don't rate my chances of too many now it's back so what are my options?

Obviously as the man said I could technically go back on ESA waiting this new tribunal. Or is it worth making a new claim because my vertigo is now back? Although I do believe you can't make a claim for the same condition once the Tribunal finds you fit for work can you? Obviously I am in a bit of limbo anyway as awaiting a re run of the Tribunal due to that error of law. So confusion reigns and I haven't the foggiest on what my best course of action should be now? Any advice appreciated as always.

If I were a race horse I suspect that they would have shot me months ago!!!!!

If that condition or any of those conditions have significantly worsened since the last WCA and you can prove it ie have supporting evidence of that , or alternately have a new condition then yes

what about the EPS for 13 weeks,? need a fit note from the GP, you can also have 2 short periods of sickness upto 14 days each in any 12mths period hopefully by then the ut will of heard the case

Did they not grant you leave to appeal ?if so then surely you should be entritled to ESA at the pre assessment rate whilst you await the outcome and quite possibly a set aside and new FTT hearing

Thanks Tommy but what do you mean re "leave to appeal" and EPS for 13 weeks??

Obviously my Upper Tribunal I am awaiting a new date for since its postponement (without me knowing - explained in post #364 ) is a re run of the previous Tribunal due to the "error of law" so whilst I know you can go onto ESA starting rate whilst waiting for the first tribunal I am not sure how you fare with the re run? Actually I am shocked that that postponement was back in May so I am wondering if they have forgotten or jus hoping I will have!!

Re two periods of sickness I apparently took those last year (again unknown to me). I think they cheekily used it up when I was swapping over one for the other last year at some point because I tried to use it at some stage when I was very ill and they showed me some records that it had been used up. I didn't argue at the time because I just didn't have the energy.

I see my GP again on Friday so will see what he says then but this is the problem I guess with fluctuating conditions. Most of the day today I was laid up in bed but this evening I am a little better so I guess I can't totally prove it has worsened, it's more of a case that it just comes and goes and you have no idea when and where it's going to strike but with the waiting times in the NHS it could be months I suspect until I see someone again..

In dire need of some advice here. Looks like this vertigo isn't going away anytime soon and ironically I had an interview tomorrow. Problem is it's 25 miles away so I can't drive and the train station is several miles from the venue plus of course I can hardly walk in a straight line. The logical thing to do is cancel the interview but considering at the moment I am on JSA means I frequently have been completing Universal Job Match so the Job Centre know about the interview. Would the Job Centre check if I have been to the interview?

It's an absolute mess because now I have the Upper Tribunal date for last years period of illness which is two weeks time, and yet now I am now in a position where I will need to reapply for ESA for this new attack of Vertigo which considering past attacks could go on for days, months or years. I really can't see what I am going to do bar maybe either selling/letting my house and moving back home because I just won't be able to survive especially if I get sanctioned for JSA and not qualify for ESA again, appreciate any help.

Well the retaken Tribunal was a nightmare and was more like the Spanish Inquisition. Totally different to the first when they didn't ask me to take my DWP papers out. This time it was turn to this page, turn to that page and so on. I was actually surprised that they didn't have an obstacle course awaiting me!!

Really attacked certain parts of the package trying to tie me up in knots I was surprised it wasn't Perry Mason rather than a Tribunal Judge up there. How they can class themselves as Independent and then be so aggressive is beyond me. She kept saying that I only had 2 vertigo attacks a week when I saw the consultant so why was I saying I had 4 or 5 and seemed totally uninterested that the whole claim from first phone call through to the DWP's decisions took months in which of course a variable condition can change.

Advice for others - be very careful when you say things to your GP's and Consultants like "I feel a bit better this week" because your Consultant will write that down and even if you feel a lot worse two days after seeing your consultant or GP the DWP and the Tribunal will pick up on this and use it to their advantage. For example (this is very loosely put btw) my Vertigo attacks were up in September 2015, down in October 2015 (when I saw Consultant), up in November and December 2015, down in January 2016, up in February, March and April 2016, down a bit in May 2016 (when I had WCA), up again in June and July 2016 and so on. The Tribunal concentrated on October 2015 and May 2016 and tried to make out I was having an uphill improvement from October 2015 and May 2016 rather than ups and downs. This can twist you in knots 2 years down the line, so make a diary if your condition fluctuates.

So the upshot of this is that I will almost certainly fail so what are my options? Since my vertigo came back with a vengeance a month ago (I have been on JSA since the last Tribunal in October 2016) I believe that I can reclaim ESA considering I think that my condition is actually worse last year between attacks, (eg my motion intolerance is worse this time around). So I believe that you can reclaim for the same condition as long as it has got worse? I believe that you have to wait six months though? So is this 6 months from the "start" of your claim (that first online request for JSA) so in my case that's December 2015 or is it from the final Tribunal decision so that could be in my case either late this week or next week possibly. I assume they write to you as my first Tribunal they called me in and gave me the decision. This time they sent me home but it was getting late.

Would appreciate the advice, thanks.