The Department of Works and Pensions
The 60-year-old father from north London was found 'fit to work'A coroner has concluded for the first time that a man with severe mental illness killed himself as
a direct result of being found "fit to work" by the Government's outsourced disability assessors.Michael O'Sullivan, a 60-year-old father from north London, hanged himself after his disability benefits were removed
despite the opinion of three doctors that he was suffering from recurrent depression and certified as unable to work by his GP.Figures released last month by the Department for Work and Pensions showed that nearly 90 people died every month between 2011 and 2014 after they had been declared fit for employment after undergoing a work capability assessment (WCA).
Ministers insisted that the statistics provided no basis for a link to the Government's welfare reforms. But it has now emerged that a coroner ruled in the case of Mr O'Sullivan that the WCA and anxiety caused to him by its findings were the direct cause of his death.
Mary Hassell, the senior coroner for inner north London, wrote to the DWP warning that she believed there was a risk of similar deaths in future and demanding preventative action.
It is believed to be the first time a coroner has explicitly blamed a suicide on the welfare reforms. Mr O'Sullivan, who had a long history of debilitating mental illness, including fear of being outdoors, died in 2013 but the case has only now come to light after it was revealed by the Disability News Service.
In a formal finding following Mr O'Sullivan's inquest in January last year, Ms Hassell said: "[His] anxiety and depression were long-term problems but the intense anxiety that triggered his suicide was caused by his recent assessment by the [DWP] as being fit for work, and his view of the likely consequences of that."
The coroner further outlined her concerns in a separate document, known as a Prevention of Future Deaths report.
She wrote: "I found that the trigger for Mr O'Sullivan's suicide was his recent assessment by a DWP doctor as being fit for work... In my opinion, there is a risk that future deaths will occur unless action is taken."
Comment: The TSA is just another growing arm of the police state.