Lost DLA Appeal - Not able to work - now what?

Jo_King

GlasweJen wrote: »

If you lose conciousness without warning at least once per week then you are entitled to low rate mobility without question (noticed the reflex syncope in there). I can back this up if you need to (though the document is rather old - someone from CAB will be able to get you a more up to date one).

Thanks for this. Could you tell me what document it comes from, and I can ask our local CAB to get me a copy?

It doesn't quite fit me. I do have some warning BUT I also have fibromyalgia, and so can't get to the ground quickly enough. The warning also varies from a second, to 10-15 seconds, but I'd have at least one 1 second warning a week... It actually happened (a longer warning one) during the Tribunal - how odd is that!

Jo_King

Again thanks for replies. I am waiting a little while before making a decision, but I really am struggling to cope at the moment, and I'm fed up being in tears of frustration just getting dressed in the morning.

Anyhow, I need to see my doctor and possibly my single point of access nurse to see where we go from here. Things are not good. I'm usually really upbeat and able to cope with anything, but if feels like there's been such a barrage recently and my usually strong coping mechanisms are crumbling.

GlasweJen

It's not about getting to the ground, it's about getting yourself safe.

I can't remember the name of the document, it's an upper level tribunal decision from around 2001, anyone from CAB will know what you're talking about, it's a fairly well known one (or at least it was in my day).

The only complicating factor was that the claimant was deemed to be unable to make himself safe as he had no warning before episodes (epilepsy). With syncope it's considered enough to be able to cover your head before you go down (not sure where this comes from, was the outcome of a normal tribunal someone posted on a syncope board years ago - never knew the girls name only a user name).

One of the most important questions when assessing how someone with syncope qualifies for DLA is hospital admissions, when were you last in hospital, what put you there and how likely is that to happen again and how injured you will be after. It's how they discriminate from someone who goes down only when getting their blood drawn and people who go down without warning several times a week and is disabled by their condition.