Philippa Day death: family launches legal challenge against DWP This article is more than 5 years old Government accused of violating right to life after mentally ill mother took overdose when benefits cut off Patrick Butler Social policy editor Mon 10 May 2021 12.34 BSTLast modified on Mon 10 May 2021 17.03 BST The family of Philippa Day, a mentally ill single mother who died from a deliberate overdose after her benefits were wrongly cut off, is to seek compensation from the government. Day died in 2019 after months of struggle with the benefit system left her in debt, highly anxious and haunted by suicidal thoughts. An inquest concluded her experience with the system was a “stressor” in her decision to take the overdose. Her family claims the handling of the case by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) and Capita, the private firm to carries out some benefits assessments, was negligent and breached Day’s human rights. DWP and Capita have three months to respond...