Medical evidence is required in order to make a decision on any claim for disability benefit. What people are overlooking is that the case manager who decides the award isn’t medically qualified so relies on medical evidence provided to decide eligibility.
When you make a claim for PiP the application goes to whichever DWP appointed assessment provider operates in your area. An assessor looks at the claim form and decides whether there is enough evidence contained in the form (as well as any supporting evidence the claimant has provided) for them to complete a report for the case manager.
Where there is enough evidence contained in the form (with or without supporting medical evidence) to get an overall impression of the level of disability , a paper assessment will be carried out and the assessors’ report will go to the case manager and the award will be decided on that evidence.
Where there is not enough information the assessor has a number of options. They can contact the medical professionals named on the claim form, they can make an appointment to contact the claimant by telephone or video call or they can arrange for the claimant to attend a face to face assessment. The assessors’ report will be completed based on whatever information is gathered as a result.
In every case there will be medical evidence provided to the case manager because they are unable to make a decision without it. Where the claimant has not provided medical evidence of their own, the assessors report will form the basis of the case managers’ decision.
As a benefit advisor I wouldn’t have advised (and still wouldn’t advise) anyone to submit a claim without some form of independent supporting evidence - medical or otherwise. If you don’t supply your own evidence from a medical professional who knows you and is familiar with your condition, you run the risk of the award being decided on the evidence of the assessor alone. And as the high success rate at tribunal demonstrates, they don’t always get it right.