Medical/Tribunal

Hi there Everyone

First time posting so please bear with me.

Just some background info before I start
My wife (Lorraine) age 48 has been in receipt of Higher rate care for over 15 years and higher mobility for 5 years(Should have been much sooner but we did not try to claim before)

She has a fairly complex medical history but briefly she has heart problems(has had 3 bypass ops and 10 pacemaker replacements.
also has very poor circulation with DVTs to leg. In addition she is epileptic suffering from regular fits.

I work part time and care for my wife to fit around those hours, because of her epilepsy in particular she cant be left on her own day or night.When I am at work a relative or friend who can cope with her fits stays with her.

In 2008 I was under pressure to do a few more hours at work. I said I could only do that if my wife could accompany me(I am office bound)because I had nobody to watch over her on that particular day.( No relative or friend was available)

That was arranged no problem and rather having my wife sat watching me work they gave her a little job of doing paperwork etc for a max of 3 hours per week (Less than the £20.00 under permitted rules)
My wife has been in receipt of incapacity benefit for over 25 years I informed Incapity people that she was working a max of 3 hours per week and earning £18.00. They said no problem it would not effect any benefits.Hmm!
As a matter of course I presumed they would inform DWP re Lorraines DLA

To cut a very long story short
At renewal in 2010 DWP reduced her care component to zero and left the mobility at the higher rate for a resticted period of 2 years. I appealed on her behalf, they sent a doctor to do medical on her.The Doctor was over 1 hour late and I had to attend to our autistic son part way through his interview with Lorraine. He was asking her questions about her epilepsy which only I could really answer correctly such as "How long do your fits Last for?" She is incoherent during and after fitting so she would not know the answer to such a question.

He asked her to walk a cross the lounge floor which she did with a struggle.( She gets breathless due to her heart condition and suffers severe pain to her leg due to the DVT etc However a slow walk on soft carpet and a distance of 2 metres bears little resemblence to a walk ouside of 150 metres on a hard surface. She struggles to walk more than 15 metres due to her heart condition and pains to her leg

Anyway following the Doctors visit
DWP then changed their decision to an award of middle rate care with lower rate mobility.(Same financial result for them)and we may now have to hand motability car back.

I have raised an appeal to a Tribunal on her behalf being fairly confident of success. In my opinion my wife is clearly entitled to higher rate care and mobility due to her medical conditions.

Unfortunately Lorraine has never been one to visit her GP unless she has to( She has had so many operations and invasive procedures she is terrified of any more)
Her Own Doctors report therefore is fairly neutral just says that she needs her husbands support due to ger dressed etc due breathlessness and that Lorraine is "Managing" her epilepsy.Incidently the doctor sent by DWP told me he had several Epileptic patients who he hardly sees because there is little he can do for them, they just have to manage.

Anyway I have gone on far too long now.

Please could anyone give me some tips on how to present Lorraine's case to the tribunal.
Her epilepsy has taken its toll on her well being over the years, consequently she is not quite with it sometimes and I will need to present most of her case to the tribunal with help from Lorraine.

very much appreciated

Thank you


Derek

murphy wrote:

Hi there Everyone

First time posting so please bear with me.

Just some background info before I start
My wife (Lorraine) age 48 has been in receipt of Higher rate care for over 15 years and higher mobility for 5 years(Should have been much sooner but we did not try to claim before)

She has a fairly complex medical history but briefly she has heart problems(has had 3 bypass ops and 10 pacemaker replacements.
also has very poor circulation with DVTs to leg. In addition she is epileptic suffering from regular fits.

I work part time and care for my wife to fit around those hours, because of her epilepsy in particular she cant be left on her own day or night.When I am at work a relative or friend who can cope with her fits stays with her.

In 2008 I was under pressure to do a few more hours at work. I said I could only do that if my wife could accompany me(I am office bound)because I had nobody to watch over her on that particular day.( No relative or friend was available)

That was arranged no problem and rather having my wife sat watching me work they gave her a little job of doing paperwork etc for a max of 3 hours per week (Less than the £20.00 under permitted rules)
My wife has been in receipt of incapacity benefit for over 25 years I informed Incapity people that she was working a max of 3 hours per week and earning £18.00. They said no problem it would not effect any benefits.Hmm!
As a matter of course I presumed they would inform DWP re Lorraines DLA

To cut a very long story short
At renewal in 2010 DWP reduced her care component to zero and left the mobility at the higher rate for a resticted period of 2 years. I appealed on her behalf, they sent a doctor to do medical on her.The Doctor was over 1 hour late and I had to attend to our autistic son part way through his interview with Lorraine. He was asking her questions about her epilepsy which only I could really answer correctly such as "How long do your fits Last for?" She is incoherent during and after fitting so she would not know the answer to such a question.

He asked her to walk a cross the lounge floor which she did with a struggle.( She gets breathless due to her heart condition and suffers severe pain to her leg due to the DVT etc However a slow walk on soft carpet and a distance of 2 metres bears little resemblence to a walk ouside of 150 metres on a hard surface. She struggles to walk more than 15 metres due to her heart condition and pains to her leg

Anyway following the Doctors visit
DWP then changed their decision to an award of middle rate care with lower rate mobility.(Same financial result for them)and we may now have to hand motability car back.

I have raised an appeal to a Tribunal on her behalf being fairly confident of success. In my opinion my wife is clearly entitled to higher rate care and mobility due to her medical conditions.

Unfortunately Lorraine has never been one to visit her GP unless she has to( She has had so many operations and invasive procedures she is terrified of any more)
Her Own Doctors report therefore is fairly neutral just says that she needs her husbands support due to ger dressed etc due breathlessness and that Lorraine is "Managing" her epilepsy.Incidently the doctor sent by DWP told me he had several Epileptic patients who he hardly sees because there is little he can do for them, they just have to manage.

Anyway I have gone on far too long now.

Please could anyone give me some tips on how to present Lorraine's case to the tribunal.
Her epilepsy has taken its toll on her well being over the years, consequently she is not quite with it sometimes and I will need to present most of her case to the tribunal with help from Lorraine.

very much appreciated

Thank you


Derek

Hi Murphy,

Welcome to the forum.

As it is your first post, can I please ask that you keep any future posts to a shorter format.

Pending posts in our Moderation section appear as a solid block of text, so you will understand how difficult it is to moderate such a long post.

With regard to your question, if you go through the orange MEMBERS ONLY area on the left, you will see extensive guides on DLA, including the appeals process.

Once you have studied the guides, if you then have any specific questions on your appeal, you can come back to the forum, and we will do our best to help.

As an initial pointer, remember it is your wife's limitations and needs, as a result of her conditions that give an award of DLA, not the actual conditions themselves.

cheers

bro58

Hi Derek,

The best advice I can give you is to seek advice from a benefits adviser in your area with a good knowledge of DLA Tribunals. Many claimants do manage to make an appeal using our guides in the members are. However, nothing to beat face to face' advice from a professional.

Try How do I get free advice Some of the links don't work, but most will provide an alternative link.

Good luck.

Jim