Benefit claimant accused of taking £28k has 'crumbling spine'

A man accused of claiming more than £28,000 in disability benefits said his ongoing back problems meant he has shrunk as his spine slowly crumbles.

Greg Phillips, aged 51, is accused of dishonestly failing to notify a change of circumstances affecting his claim for Disability Living Allowance between January 2012 and January 2017.

The jury at Plymouth Crown Court that Phillips worked several supposedly physical jobs for five years - including pizza delivery driver and nurse at a residential care home - without telling the authorities his health had improved enough for him to work.

Prosecutor Jason Beal said the Department of Work and Pensions accepted that Phillips, of Orchard Close, Plympton suffered from lumbar spondylosis, but brought the case after learning he had worked at a number of firms.

As a result they accuse him of falsely claiming £28,469 over the five year period.

The court heard how as a result of inquiries Phillips was interviewed under caution by DWP investigators who questioned him about his claim form he completed in July 2010. At that time he was still working for Devon County Council but was made redundant in 2012.

Phillips said he went to Southway community centre where he was helped by a woman regarding the questions, who has asked him to chose the "worst day" scenario for each answer.

Mr Beal told the jury that Phillips had said he had always been somebody who loved to work. The investigators were told that Phillips had had surgery on his back and three serious infections before he finally made his claim.

Phillips told investigators after years of suffering debilitating pain and problems, people had begun to suggest he should claim for financial assistance. However, Mr Beal told the court that Phillips should have been aware that it was a benefit that helped people or helped them to return to work, not a compensation for people with illnesses.

Phillips had told investigators that when he worked for the Domino's Pizza he had to wear a corset under his uniform, had informed his manager of his severe back problems, did not carry out heavy lifting, and walked no more than a few yards from car to front door in the Plympton area. He also said that within four to six weeks he was promoted to a managerial role so did not do any lifting at all.

Phillips also told investigators that when he worked at two residential care homes his role was mainly to oversee registered nurses who carried out physical care of the elderly patients. He said no staff would be allowed to lift patients themselves, but were trained to use special hoists.

Accused of undergoing a change in circumstances in 2012, Phillips insisted his medical condition remained, and had actually worsened, but he had changed the amount of pain relief he was taking.

He also had told investigators that the DWP had never requested he come in for assessments and had never discussed his health. He insisted he had called them on one occasion to inform them of his new pain medication regime but said he was brusquely told they did not need to know that.

Mr Beal said it was accepted that Phillips had no previous convictions, no warnings and no cautions to his name.

Taking the stand, Phillips said he was diagnosed with lumbar spondylosis and arthritis of the spine and lumbar regions in 1990 when he was still in his 20s. The diagnosis remains to this day and he said it basically means he finds it extremely difficult to walk and suffered great pain constantly which was reduced by medication.

He revealed he was currently awaiting surgery to strengthen his spine and pin it back into place. During his evidence, Phillips revealed that earlier this year he had suffered sepsis which had left him in intensive care for several days. A complication of the condition meant that he now suffered memory lapses and found it difficult to recall certain incidents and events.

He said he did not make a claim for Disability Living Allowance until 2010 as he just got on with life, but as the pain became "worse and worse" and after a number of people suggested he claimed he eventually filled in the paperwork.

Answering questions from defence barrister Katie Churcher, Phillips said he was "quite proud" and "did not like to broadcast that I'm struggling". He said his attitude in his jobs was to "try and keep my head down and get on with work". He said he took medication and managed his symptoms.

He said that though he worked he would be on "24 hour medication" because "I'm always in pain - walking any distance is painful". He revealed that he had to take a large number of painkilling tablets each day "16 in the morning, then four times during the day".

He admitted he was working for the council at the time he completed the form and that he had to have help from his wife in tying his shoes and getting in and out of the bath. Fellow members of a model making club - his main hobby - had also helped him up until he had to leave the hobby behind due to his back pain.

He said he had a blue badge for his car which allowed him to park in more suitable locations in the short time he was a pizza delivery driver.

He also explained that most of the work he carried out at the residential care homes was administrative rather than physical and he had only undertaken rug cleaning - to deal with patients who were incontinent - to encourage other staff who were confused at the Rug Doctor machinery they were meant to use.

He told the court that since 2010 when he completed the form his condition had worsened, adding "I've shrunk where my spine has started to crumble. I had an MRI scan and the discs have started to degenerate. My spinal cord is now out of line".

When challenged by prosecutor Jason Beal, Phillips insisted he gave accurate answers to all the questions on the form he provided. He explained that as a registered nurse he had previously helped people fill out the DLA form, but he decided he wanted an independent person to assist him. He said the lady at the Southway community centre had asked him the questions, insisting he answer while keeping in mind the "worst case scenario" rather than his best days.

He said he wanted "somebody who was impartial", adding that he did not want it to come across as he knew what to write "because I'm in the profession I didn't want it to appear that I completed it falsely - I wanted it to be completely impartial".

He explained that since earlier this year, when he suffered sepsis, medics at the Intensive Care Unit had stopped all his medication and they have been slowly reintroduced over the last few months, adding that this was done because if he had remained on his usual pain medication he would have been "at risk of multiple organ failure".

Mr Beal said employers had described Phillips as "a really good employee - you don't just do the bare minimum", to which Phillips replied: "I always tried to do my best".

The jury later retired to consider their verdict.

The trial continues.

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