Confirmation of How *Not* to Fill in the DLA Form

Invalidation

Oldernotwiser wrote: »

That's why the rules need tightening up now; things have been very lax in the past.

No, the rules werent lax at all. They WERE the rules.
As the DLA person said to me, "Youre only as good as your worst day"
I shall go even further. Back in 1994 I had a visit from a lady from the local DSS office. She even stated that one should use the 'worst day' scenario.

Maybe what is needed is a clear and concise statement as to what is what. But the problem is, no two, identical medical problems will cause the same reaction in different people. I have a friend with exactly the same condition as me, same collapsed discs, yet he is able to continue to work. I cant as my condition is totally unpredictable. Though I might be able to sit down and read a book pain freee for some time, if I get up or even sometimes shift my weight, I get a total pain so bad, that one wishes for death as it is so bad.

Oldernotwiser

Invalidation wrote: »

No, the rules werent lax at all. They WERE the rules.
As the DLA person said to me, "Youre only as good as your worst day"
I shall go even further. Back in 1994 I had a visit from a lady from the local DSS office. She even stated that one should use the 'worst day' scenario.

That just illustrates how lax the rules actually were and how money can now be saved by tightening them up.

If you use the worst day scenario, where do you draw the line: when you have more worst days then better: when you have several bad days a week: when you have one awful day a month?

You can see how ridiculous it is to use a worst day scenario to allocate disability benefits.

bribri_2

dmg24 wrote: »

There have been several posts on this board suggesting that the DLA form should be filled in explaining how you are on your worst days only, rather than giving a balanced view of your care and mobility needs. This has now been confirmed in a court case as incorrect.



The case also gives a warning as to what can happen to those who use this approach - yes, you can end up with a custodial sentence for this.

I have only read the news report , not the trial details but
Other quotes are:

---

The court accepted that Lewis had initially suffered a medical problem with her back in 2001.
But "very soon" after she made the Disability Living Allowance claim, she began playing golf up to three or four times a week at Sutton Hall Golf Club.



Valerie Lewis was filmed taking her golf bag out of the car and teeing off


Golf club records and Lewis' own diaries showed that she even played a round of golf the day after her medical assessment.

---

I am not disputing that a more rounded view of a condition is required by the form but my interpretation of this case is that this seems more like an excuse to get out of a fraud. Note the use of the word 'scenario' i.e. imagined worst-case.

Oldernotwiser

bribri wrote: »

I am not disputing that a more rounded view of a condition is required by the form but my interpretation of this case is that this seems more like an excuse to get out of a fraud. Note the use of the word 'scenario' i.e. imagined worst-case.

I understand what you're saying but there are several claimants on here who mange to do all sorts of activities on their "good" days but justify receiving benefits based on the "worst day" scenario. It seems to me to be a very common attitude rather than a rare case of fraud.

bribri_2

I agree with you. It is just that on the specifics of this case I infer that golf with so much twisting and bending of the back is not something you would do on your good days if your disability was back pain.

If you had put worst case 'reality' is staying in bed, I would perhaps expect average to better case is gentle and limited exercise such as walk in the park but not regular rounds of golf.

cit_k

The dla form is very clear that you should tell them about how your condition varies..

We know that disabilities can affect people more on one day than another – you may have good days and bad days. And your disability may vary over time. Please try to tell us as much as you can about how your disability varies.
We also know that help needed during the day and help needed during the night can be different. There are separate questions for you to tell us about the different sort of help you may need.
You may find it helpful to keep a record of your needs. Try to list all the times when you need help from someone else or when you have difficulty doing something because there is nobody around to help you. If your condition varies, you may want to keep a record of your needs over a good day and over a bad day.

The news is offering different versions it seems, the BBC reported that the defence has said

David Ackerley, defending, said his client had "misunderstood" the benefit application forms and was listing the "worst case scenario" they asked for.

source

The form does not ask for a worst case scenario anywhere, the defence was lying.

I would have wanted the defence up in court for perjury...

Invalidation

I think we should all use the same standard of Honesty as our MP's.
One wonders how some of those would have completed a DLA form ??

[Deleted User]

sh1305 wrote: »

The forms aren't that hard to understand, I don't think. I was always told to put as much detail as possible, put down average day and talk about my disabilities varying and how often that is.

tbh its your care and mobility needs you need to express FULLY on the forms NOT the disability

you can emphasise your worst days but you should also explain how often these worst days occur and what happens in between them
the more detailed picture you paint the better chance of a correct decision

its human nature to be positive about ourselves,for dla you need to be negative and realistic,and you need to take time completing the forms

Indie_Kid

cyclops. wrote: »

We did! Maybe we had a different attitude to life. Maybe we took responsibility for our problems. Even before 1992, when DLA hadn't been invented. Even before Tax Credits, when you lived on what you earned.

Before DLA, we had mobility allowance and attendance allowance.

It's no good having DLA or indeed any other benefit if the NHS can't afford to prescribe drugs that give you life.

I was told earlier this week that the treatment that my GP & neurosurgeon had suggested, probably isn't the best thing for me, because of the swallowing difficulties it causes. For many (including myself) no drug will help.

Brassedoff

pwales wrote: »

tbh .i think this ruling will get the 20% saving dla are looking for on its own, the amount of people who have said they put down there worst days as normal days are alot

I agree, but will it stop many wiki claims where someone studies a ailment for financial gain?

What is a good day? What is a bad? The forms are confusing, what was the person convicted of and what was their claimed problem? As far as the 20% is concerned regular checking (not form filling) will also reduce the claims of those who recover but then contract selective amnesia when it comes to stop claiming benefits.