DLA - I need to gain expertise, fast.

TOBRUK

Hi RacyRed good of you to update and I'm glad your friend had a good result.

I have only read your thread for the first time this morning. To be honest I wasn't sure what you were hoping to achieve or what you were going to do with all the information posted here.

Not knowing your friends' illness/condition etc it would be difficult to know what to advise. I understand how it feels to go to a tribunal as I have been to two myself in the past. I didn't have any representative, I only took someone for moral support to both. I was reduced to tears in both, althugh the second time wasn't too bad! It is fair to say that the panels do vary!

It is nice to hear an update, especially if it is good news!

RacyRed

TOBRUK wrote: »

Hi RacyRed good of you to update and I'm glad your friend had a good result.

I have only read your thread for the first time this morning. To be honest I wasn't sure what you were hoping to achieve or what you were going to do with all the information posted here.

Not knowing your friends' illness/condition etc it would be difficult to know what to advise. I understand how it feels to go to a tribunal as I have been to two myself in the past. I didn't have any representative, I only took someone for moral support to both. I was reduced to tears in both, althugh the second time wasn't too bad! It is fair to say that the panels do vary!

It is nice to hear an update, especially if it is good news!

What I REALLY wanted to do was minimise the upset to my friend if I could. After the first tribunal she was really ill for weeks and has been massively depressed and agitated for about a month before this second tribunal. Just getting her there took a lot of effort from her friends and family.

I'd seriously recommend getting a representative for tribunals. The lady my friend had was brilliant. I don't want to go into too many details, but the rep and indeed the tribunal and the BA representative ended up going more than the extra mile to help my friend get an accurate assessment once they realised that her medical report was badly flawed. (My friend's fault to some extent - she is in complete denial about the seriousness of her conditions - that really doesn't help her in situations like this.)

It worried me though. I can see how easily genuine claimants could be subject to unintentional injustice in these circumstances. My friend is fortunate in that she has people who will fight for her. What happens to those who do not have anyone to help them?

My advice, for what it is worth, would be to ensure you have an experienced representative with you at tribunals if at all possible.