industrial injuries disablement benefit

hi Jim

Thankyou so much for responding to my help withIIDB.

I am a retired firefighter due to a 27 ft fall whilst carrying out firefighter duties.

I have been medically retired due to my accident in 1999 and claimed IIDB due to an
industrial accident
I suffer with chronic back pain along with as you can imagine from such a fall flash backs night terrors etc and was awarded 20% disablement.

My condition has now deteriorated i have quite extensive arthritis in my lumber back, hips , shoulders, and fingers, prolapsed discs and suffer with sciatica. the list goes on I am sure you understand.

I have not been re- assessed for about 8 yrs.

Hope this gives you a clearer picture.

Any help would be much appreciated.

regards Jegs

Hi Jegs,

Thanks for your reply. I am sorry that you were injured whilst carrying out your duties as a firefighter. I think that fact alone will help your assessment.

Please bear with me, as I'll need to pull out some files from a filing cabinet on this, as I haven't got around to scanning everything to my laptop, as I'm in a electric wheelchair due to MS, respiratory problems, arthritis in all joints, especially my hands, not to mention I'm now 73 years old.

My wife and I recently moved into a purpose built bungalow, as she also has severe health problems.

I'll try my best to to post all I can before we close at 4.00 pm, if not as a moderator we can still post when the forum is locked, and you can still read it, but not post again until we reopen 8.00pm to 10.00pm, which may give you some time to read through the information I can provide.

Kind regards,

Jim

Hi Jim

What an inspirational guy you are. Taking time out to help others when you obviously have so much going on yourself.

Please take your time and once again thankyou so much for your speedy response

regards Jegs

Hi,

Bear with me and note what I have written below before asking for a further change of circumstance with the Industrial Injury Benefit Drs.

I had an accident at work in 1996 and in 1998 was put on IIB then on 40% and later was asked in for another medical by the IIB Dr in 2006. It was then set at 50% for life.

In 2008 following considerable pain and far more delibitating problems ulltimately in reference to the accident in 19996, my CAB home visitor sent of forms for another re evaluation backed up by my GP and Consultants.
Not only was I more reliant upon the wheelchair, but arthritis had set in at all the joints that were badly damaged in the accident along with 8 different discs.

We had a reply back within two weeks.

It was explained to us quite clearly (later my CAB Lady rang the IIB Office and spoke to someone very helpful and with a Dr from IIB) That any subsequent problems arrising from an accident at work that now shows signs of arthritis in those areas, you should seriously consider not to ask for a medical review as any signs of arthritis could see your initial claim voided, thus resulting in financial loss.
It seems that if arthritis later sets in ,it could be construed that your problems of disability and pain are degenerative from arthritis and NOT due to the accident.

My excellent GP and the CAB representative decided from the letter and phone call with IIB it was to dangerous to procede with a further referral to the IIB , as a loss of that income set at 50 % would cause considerable financial hardship.
We also contacted the solicitor that dealt with my case, but as it was longer than 7 years since the accident, legally nothing could be accomplished by opening the case. ( 7 years from a final settlement is the legal end date drom a signed off accident at work)

So if you are still considering having a review with the IIB, please consider my post and above all , see your GP and other bodies to get full and frank advice.
Perhaps if you do still go ahead with a further re view see if you can convince them that your award will not be lowered or stopped if you have arthritis in place now.

Hi pusscatsmum.

Thank you for your excellent response. I have MS brain fog today and was thinking Jeg's award of IIDB had ended and he was asking for it to be extended. I now realise that's not the case (correct me if I'm wrong jegs)

He can apply for supersession of the decision on the grounds that there has been a change of circumstances in that the disability resulting from the accident has either worsened or continued beyond the final date. This used to be called an "unforeseen aggravation" but is now just a supersession like ESA, DLA etc.

The difficulty is on the qualifying words above - 'resulting from the accident'. He may well be able to show that disability is continuing or worsened but, demonstrating causation will be much more difficult, maybe impossible. given that the effects of the accident would be that any ongoing disability would be constitutional. e.g. arthritis.

Indeed, my wife's case a retired nurse was similar having injured her back lifting patients, she now has severe arthritis but I never asked for a review under 'unforeseen aggravation' (now just a supersession as in any other social security benefit.) as it could have put here current assessment at risk.

Kind regards.

Jim

Hi Kegs,

First of all, I should advise you that the law on IIDB is very complex, and it was way back in 1986 when I dealt with my wife’s claim. Also, I would have thought that being an ex-firefighter the Fire Brigades Union would have provided you with face to face assistance on this.

I do not have access to your case papers which makes it extremely difficult to provide advice, so I can only give you generic advice and not personal advice on your particular claim, indeed the site owner does not allow us to give advice on individual claims for any benefit being claimed.

As I’m sure you’re aware medical reassessments for IIDB are now done by the dreaded Atos.
When my wife had her medical assessments, the DWP was then the Dept of Social Security (DSS), and medicals were carried out by the Benefits Agency Medical Services (BAMS) who were well qualified and there were few poor quality medical reports.

An IIDB medical assessment is usually carried out by two doctors, but sometimes it can be one. Under BAMS, one of the doctors had to be experienced in your particular condition so it was often a Consultant rather than a GP. IIDB doctors are still specially trained in industrial injuries disablement matters, they do not assess DLA, ESA etc. which can be carried out by doctors,nurses, physiotherapists and occupational therapists.

If you can travel, you will be told when and where to go for the examination. You will be told what out-of-pocket expenses you can claim. If you are not fit to travel alone, someone can travel with you. If you are not fit to travel, you can also request an examination at home. You should give full details of why you are unable to attend at a Medical Boarding Centre. The medical examination will be held in private but you may be able to take a companion if the doctor allows it. Occasionally you may be asked if an observer can be present.

The assessment is based on two factors, Loss of Faculty which are :

Loss of physical or mental faculty means some loss of power or function of an organ of the body. Loss of faculty can include disfigurement even when this causes no bodily handicap. Whether a loss of faculty results in disability is decided by comparing your condition as a result of the accident with the condition of a normal healthy person of the same age and sex.

Degree of Disablement which is your disablement assessed as a percentage up to 100% IIDB claimants may be given a ‘final’ assessment of disablement for life if your disability is assessed as permanent and is unlikely to change. Or where you are likely to make a full recovery the assessment may be final but for a limited period. Or you may be given a provisional assessment for a limited period at the end of which you will be re-examined and your disablement assessed again.

I’ve managed to find a good up-to-date (2014) guide to IIDB on Gov.uk you can find this at Industrial Injuries Technical Guidance

However, to reiterate, I would strongly advise you to ask if the Fire Brigades Union can assist you, as they to the best of my knowledge have specialist lawyers. If not, I'd seek legal advice from a lawyer with specialist experience on Industrial Injuries.

Finally, you should be aware that if you received compensation for your accident from your former employer and your percentage of disability is increased, then the increase could be clawed back
by the DWP Compensation Recovery Unit

However, that's just my opinion as a retired Welfare Rights Officer, not as a general lawyer. Sorry for the long post, but I felt it it was necessary.

Best of luck.

Kind regards.

Jim