A SUICIDAL lorry driver who was declared ‘fit for work’ by the multinational firm Atos despite his own doctor saying it would be unsafe for him to be on the roads has won his appeal against a decision to strip him of his sickness benefits.
In October 2012. the SNJ reported on Graham’s case after the 39-year-old received a letter from the Department for Work and Pensions telling him his benefits had been stopped.
The father of three began claiming Employment Support Allowance (ESA) in February after falling ill with severe depression
Although his doctor said it would be unsafe for him to get back behind the wheel of a HGV, Atos declared him ‘fit for work’ following a 30-minute Work Capability Assessment in June.
A sick or disabled person needs to score 15 points on the test to be deemed unfit for work but Graham, who suffers from suicidal thoughts and on more than one occasion has tried to kill himself, was awarded none – an outcome his doctor described as ‘bizarre’.
Despite his condition, the Atos worker who conducted his half-hour assessment concluded that Graham was ‘unlikely’ to have ‘significant difficulties with mental health function’.
But on Friday, February 8, Graham won his appeal at a tribunal before a judge and a doctor in Bristol.
He was told his ESA never should have been stopped and he would not be reassessed for two years to allow him sufficient time to recover.
Graham, who lives in the Five Valleys, said the stress of the appeal process caused his mental state to deteriorate further and had hindered his recovery.
“The pressure it has put on all of us and my family is unbelievable,” he said. “If the appeal had gone against me I was worried about losing the house because I wouldn’t have been able to pay my rent and bills.”
He added: “It seems as though the system has just been set-up to push people off benefits rather than actually assess their health.”
“The whole time I have been trying to prove that what my doctor was saying is true and it is nice that the DWP (Department for Work and Pensions) have finally acknowledged that.”
Graham thanked Stroud MP Neil Carmichael for writing to the DWP on his behalf.
Atos Healthcare has said it meets all of its obligations as part of its contract with the DWP and delivers a ‘complex and challenging’ service.
A DWP spokesman said: “The old incapacity benefits system condemned too many people to a life on benefits with little hope of moving back to work. ”
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- Atos is a French multinational corporation which has a £110m-a-year contract with the Department for Work and Pensions to carry out Work Capability Assessments – tests which are used to determine whether or not people are fit for work.
- The company does not make the final decision about whether or not people are entitled to claim benefits but it makes recommendations to the DWP based on its assessments.
- Official figures show that nearly four out of 10 people who have challenged Atos’ decision to declare them ‘fit-for-work’ have had their cases upheld on appeal.
- Campaigners claim the company is arbitrarily cutting the number of people in receipt of disability benefits in order to meet government targets intended to reduce welfare expenditure.
- Atos and the government have insisted that no such targets exist.
Stroud News & Journal
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i am 54 yrs of age,my esa benefit is being disputed by the dwp following an atos assessement last year…i am classed as a heart failure patient following a series of heart attacks pre 2010,confirmed january 2010…i underwent a triple heart by-pass operation on december 2011 to ease angina problems…my heart disease is beyond repair but still despite circulation problems to my limbs,fatigue and constant tiredness and pain,atos have declared my illness is not `life threatening`…
This case is identical to my fathers! But his appeal was turned down! Please we are in need of HELP! He is 62 and been told to return to work! This story is like i say almost exactly identicle to my dad! An he was really bad after the appeal. Is there anything that can be done to help!
Just to let everyone know on the ATOSSERS victims site. I appealed against my decision of being put in the WRAG group. I was supposed to have an interview 2 weeks ago and phoned them and said i was not well enough to travel. They made another appointment and i was still waiting to hear from my appeal. It has took 3 month’s to hear back from them.
Yesterday!!!! My wife took a phone call from the DWP and they asked to speak to me. My wife said, ” I will not let you speak to him as you have caused him immense distress so you will have to talk to me.” They told her there was no need for me to go to the rearranged appointment for the WRAG interview as they had decided to amend the decision they had previously made.
The evil bitch who works for ATOS had told so many lies about my assessment made her liable to prosecution for slander! It was that bad!
My wife was with me at the assessment and took notes.
listen…. For gods sake… Take someone with you to ant assessment. Secretly film it with the camera pen that is available on e-bay! Gather evidence that is truth unlike their bloody lies!
Good luck to all my fellow disabled people and fight these bloody FASCISTS to the very end!
Mike