Important New Legal Judgement Rules That Walking Through Pain Is Not Acceptable For PIP
With many thanks to Disability Rights UK.
A significant new legal judgment holds that while someone may 'push through pain' in order to continue walking this does not mean that they are walking to an "acceptable standard" for Personal Independence Payment (PIP) purposes.
The new judgment means that consideration should not only be given to whether a disabled claimant can reliably walk up to 20 metres or 50 metres in total.
In addition, consideration should also be given to whether they are walking through pain before reaching 20 metres or 50 metres.
In CPIP/665/2016, Upper Tribunal Judge Markus rejects the Secretary of State's submission that if pain was not significant enough to prevent someone walking it is only at the stopping point at which the pain meant that walking was to an unacceptable standard.
While Judge Markus finds that while the appellant in this case had not succeeded in showing that he could not walk over 50 metres repeatedly or within a reasonable time period:
"… he said that he did so in considerable pain … and that he would rather push through the pain in order to stay as active and independent as possible.
The tribunal was wrong not to consider what the impact of pain was on the appellant's ability to mobilise the distance found to an acceptable standard."