Hello everyone im new and trying to get some good information and think i have found the right place

My situation is that i have been on dla for the past 4 years the first time i applied i got turned down so asked them to relook at the dicision and i was award the higher rate for both care and mobility. After the year i then applied again and got the higher rate of both for another 3 years.

My condition is that my knee cap on my left leg fell off and had to have surgery to repair it however this seem quite straight forward however i suffered alot of other things since the night when it happened and have had a total 5 operation. I have other problems that have come on due to what has happened, i have cronic pain, bad circulation, arthritis, loss of muscle in my thigh and suffer extremely bad spasms.

I due to my spasms i am no longer able to have physiotherapy as it made it worse so my physio has stopped treatment not because i am better but because there is no more she can do for me, also my consultant say that there is no more he can do for my led surgically. My g.p has said that my condition will not get any better and i have to decide when to have my other knee done as that one is getting bad due to having to put my weight through that leg all the time.

i reclaimed in july and had a dicision that i was entitled to the high rate mobility but only the lower rate of care, i asked them to relook at the claim as i had done before as the points on the dicision letter said that i was able to do things that i couldnt. So i explained to the lady on the phone all the point that was wrong and also explain how they was wrong as i need help to do everything from getting up out of a chair to going to the toilet to help in the night turning and moving my leg as it gets very sniff and i cant move it by myself. However i recieve my new dicision and it was the same saying that i was entitled to high mobility and only low care.

so i am now wondering what the best thing to do as they dont seem to have taken enything i told them over the phone into account???? I am going to appeal as i feel my condition has not changed except i have to have my other knee done... I have been reading the notes on here about appealing and it says tha they relook at the claim again do they often change the dicision at this stage???

Sorry this is so long i just want people to have a good insight into my personal circumstances so that i can get the best information for me... Thanks Very much xxx

Hi Pauline,

It's impossible for us to give in depth advice on individual claims, as we don't have access to your case file.

The best advice I can offer is to seek 'face to face' advice from a welfare rights adviser with a view to lodging an appeal. If you wish to appeal you must do so within one month of the date of the DWP informed you of their decision. You appeal on form GL24 which you can download HERE

There is no need to put detailed information on the GL24, a simple statement such as " I do not believe that the Decision Maker has fully taken into account my care needs, further evidence to follow" would be sufficient.

One thing I do note, is that you state you told the DLA Unit about the changes to your condition over the 'phone. It's always better to do this in writing, that way you can be sure that this will have bee seen by the Decision Maker dealing with your case.

To reiterate, you need advice and help to put together an appeal from a welfare rights adviser. You local CAB should be able to assist you with this, or pass you to an organisation that can.

I realise that it's too late for you now, but we never advise that claimants opt for a 'reconsideration'. If their claim is refused, we advise to go straight for appeal, as before an appeal is passed to the Tribunals Service by the DWP, it is always automatically looked at again by a more senior Decision Maker. However, the success rate for 'reconsideration' is only around 10%, as opposed to around a 55% success rate if a claimant opts for an 'oral hearing' which means they attend and can give information to the tribunal and address any questions the tribunal may have.

If you do submit an appeal, then again it will be looked at by a more senior DM., but to be honest as you've already had a 'reconsideration' your chances of having your care award increased are pretty slim from my experience as a WRO and former DLA Tribunal Member for 10 years until I retired in late 2005.

Have you read the guides on DLA Appeals in the members area, if not I'd advise you to have a look at them.

Also, you can find general advice about how tribunals work and other useful information on appealing on the Tribunals Service website HERE

I hope this is of some help to you, but do contact your CAB as soon as possible, as they can read all your case papers and decide on the best way to word your appeal.

Best wishes.

Jim

thank you so much for your advice its great, i wish i had found this site b4 i asked for a reconsideration, i find this very hard to understand

when you request to appeal how long does it normal take to see what the senior decision maker has decided???? and then how long roughly from when i ask for the oral appeal will it take to actual have the appeal????

I have been reading all the notes about the appeal and it says that its best to have a representative with you at the appeal, who would i contact to see if anyone would be able to help me???

mant thanks again x

Hi,

If you complete form GL24 and return it ASAP, the DM will look at your case again and should let you know their decision within about 4 weeks. However, it depends upon how busy the DLA Unit in Blackpool is. They deal with all current DLA claims ( around 2.5 million) and also renewals and the Motability scheme.

With appeals, again it's hard to be precise, but on average it takes 6-8 weeks, again depending on how busy your local Tribunals Service (TS) office is, and the number of appeals waiting to be heard. At an educated guess, I reckon someone who lodged an appeal tomorrow can expect to wait around 4 weeks for the DWP to deal with it before they pass it to the TS, and then it would be probably mid January 2009 before they got a date for their hearing.

If you check the link I gave for the TS, it lists the areas where TS regional offices are located, and the venues where tribunals are held.

AS I said many local CAB's will help with appeals, and some can actually attend the hearing with you. However, it's not essential to be represented, since the tribunal will direct any questions it may have to you, and not your representative, since you know more than anyone about the level of mobility and care needs you have.

If your local CAB cannot help, then try Community Legal Advice

Hope this helps.

Jim

PS. I won't be back online again until tomorrow afternoon. I have MS and am 'not up to scratch' at the moment and have a hospital appointment tomorrow morning, which no doubt will be running late as usual.

thanks jim, i hope you are feeling ok, i have been very bad today suffering spasm after spasm....

first thing in the morning im going to ring around the cab and community legal advice and she is i can get some advice on what is best to do. I just dont understand why they said i am able to do this when the truth of the matter is that i cant???? I have a feeling it could all be down to the form the doctor filled in when i first send my renewal form off, my g.p was away and a doctor in the surgury filled it in and i think i have only seen him once a long long time ago. Also i have been awarded the hrc for the last 4 yrs and my situation hasnt changed expect for the fact that both my consultant and physio cant do no more for me, but this is not because i am better.

After i have seeked advice tomorrow and if i do decide to go ahead with the appeal will they send me a copy of all the information they used to make their deision???

I took a look at website on the tribunal which is every usefull aswell and my local office will be cardiff i think, Someting i am wondering is that when sitting down i need to lift my leg as if i leave it on the floor i get very bad pain and the circlation gets really bad, will this be a problem in the tribunal???? also i have very difficulities walking and cant walk that far and any amount of walking i do make me suffer with extremely bad pain, will the room be close to the entrance???? i have used a wheelchair in the past but i have gone back to using my elbow crutches ( this is more to do with the fact that i hate to think that i am disabled being young and b4 this all happened being a fit person )

Thanks jim your a great help xx

pol wrote:

QUOTE:
I just dont understand why they said i am able to do this when the truth of the matter is that i cant???? I have a feeling it could all be down to the form the doctor filled in when i first send my renewal form off, my g.p was away and a doctor in the surgury filled it in and i think i have only seen him once a long long time ago. Also i have been awarded the hrc for the last 4 yrs and my situation hasnt changed expect for the fact that both my consultant and physio cant do no more for me, but this is not because i am better.

You not seeing your usual GP makes no difference. The GP I'm registered with I've only ever seen once, yet she was able to look up my notes and say that I have this, I am registered as disabled as a result and I use this aid to help me.

The DWP do seem to make some odd decision, imo. I'm partially sighted, yet according to them I should have no problems reading.