Jodey Whiting: Court of Appeal grants new benefit death inquest

The parent of a disabled pistillate who killed herself aft her benefits were chopped has won a ineligible conflict for a caller inquest into her daughter's death.

A coroner ruled her decease was suicide, but her mother, Joy Dove, wants a caller inquest to look astatine the DWP's impact.

Three Court of Appeal judges person ruled that a caller inquest should instrumentality place.

Ms Dove had challenged a ruling by 2 High Court judges successful June, who had refused her request.

She took her combat to the Court of Appeal, wherever judges heard her lawsuit successful January and concluded a caller inquest was "desirable successful the interests of justice".

Lady Justice Whipple, sitting with Lord Justice Lewis and Lord Justice William Davis, said the nationalist had a "legitimate interest" successful knowing whether Ms Whiting's decease was connected with the abrupt stopping of her benefits.

The coroner astatine the archetypal inquest, which lasted 37 minutes, recorded a verdict of suicide.

During the Appeal Court hearing, Ms Dove's lawyers argued the archetypal inquest had not investigated "whether immoderate acts oregon omissions of the DWP caused oregon contributed to Ms Whiting's death".

They said determination was caller grounds of "multiple, important failings" by the DWP which had not been considered.

Ms Whiting had received benefits for much than a decennary owed to serious, semipermanent carnal and intelligence wellness issues.

In precocious 2016, erstwhile the DWP started a reassessment, she said she needed a location sojourn due to the fact that she was housebound, had terrible anxiousness and was incapable to locomotion much than a fewer steps.

Ms Dove's lawyers argued astatine the High Court successful 2021 that this was not decently considered earlier the DWP terminated her disablement payment erstwhile she did not be a enactment capableness assessment.

This led to Ms Whiting's lodging payment and assembly taxation payment besides being stopped.

The determination to terminate Ms Whiting's benefits was overturned connected 31 March 2017, weeks aft her death.

The autarkic lawsuit examiner, which investigates complaints astir the DWP, aboriginal recovered aggregate breaches of section policy, important errors by unit and respective "missed opportunities" for the DWP to reconsider the claim.