DLA refused again.....

ozbird1

Hi

I hope someone can offer some advice here please. Over the last 5 years I have applied for DLA 3 times and just been turned down again for the 3rd time, which i will appeal - a brief out line of my disability :-

Age 42

4 Hip replacements on one side>
1 knee replacement
bone graft from hip to elbow
Currently under advise for possible ankle fusions.

Reason given today is that I will be much better by 10/10/2012 so don't qualify. Am I flogging a dead horse ? I am been unrealistic to expect to be given to this allowance ?

Would love to hear thoughts and advice

Thanks

sunnyone

jdixon1 wrote: »

Hi

I hope someone can offer some advice here please. Over the last 5 years I have applied for DLA 3 times and just been turned down again for the 3rd time, which i will appeal - a brief out line of my disability :-

Age 42

4 Hip replacements on one side>
1 knee replacement
bone graft from hip to elbow
Currently under advise for possible ankle fusions.

Reason given today is that I will be much better by 10/10/2012 so don't qualify. Am I flogging a dead horse ? I am been unrealistic to expect to be given to this allowance ?

Would love to hear thoughts and advice

Thanks

Have you appealed any of the other claims?

If you have and been turned down then had the appeals checked over to make sure they havnt erred on a point of law which would allow you to appeal to the upper tribunal I would give up and wait for PIP but if you have failed after three claims and appeals I still wouldnt hold out much hope under PIP.

No doubt it is HRM mobility you want at the least?

ozbird1

I appealed the 2nd one - and in the meeting the man basically said I was too honest !

Since that appeal I've had the 4th hip replacement, and now in the process of been signed off work with long term disability. I have never claimed anything in the past other than a blue parking badge so everything is very new and a little confusing.

ozbird1

Sunnyone - sorry I couldn't find my original post which is why i posted again.

Horseunderwater

Suggest you look up DLA descriptors and see if you actually meet the correct criteria for any of the bits where Mobility or care are or would be involved. I expect you do not - but it does not hurt to look the definitions up.
If you are signed off long term from work - have you exhausted all your sick pay? If yes, suggest you may be better trying for ESA contributions rate initially and then try to get into a support group.

Anubis_2

Have you filled in the forms yourself or have you had help?

Have you ever appealed or just put in a new application each time?

As you are appealing, the first thing to do would be to ring and ask for a copy of everything used to make the decsion. If they requested a GP report and used that in decision making, it could be that your doctor has not put enough info in the form.

If you have a look at your letter, it should state what evidence they used to base their decision.

kingfisherblue

Do you have any care or mobility needs? It would be reasonble to assume that once you have had surgery, you no longer have the mobility needs that you would have had whilst waiting for a hip replacement, for example. I know a cople of people who have had hip replacements (much older than you), and they have been much better after their operations - able to get around much more easily, and without pain.

DLA is awarded only on the basis of your care and/or mobility needs, not on what your condition is, or on what operations you have had. Could this be why you have been turned down?

ozbird1

Thanks Kingfisherblue - I appreciate what you are saying that people are usually much better after hip surgery, certainly after the 1st and the second I was. However the pros of this operation diminish everytime it's completed so at 3 on my left side - the results are limited.

My ankle situation is an on-going problem which also causes mobility problems.

Oliver14

jdixon1 wrote: »

My ankle situation is an on-going problem which also causes mobility problems.

It's if they assess your mobility problems are at such a level to need help so therefore qualify. If though you do think you meet the criteria it's worth getting some advice before filling an appeal. I'd go to the CAB as your first port of call.

HB58

As I understand it, one of the problems with DLA mobility is that HRM is mainly awarded for physical problems and LRM if people need supervision. Therefore, if someone with a physical problem just misses out on HRM they don't get LRM, they get nothing.

MrsManda

DLA requires you to have mobility/care needs for a further 6 months after they receive your claim which from your most recent decision letter they have decided this won't be the case. Are you due to have surgery before the 10/10/12? Did you tell them or is it information they're likely to have got from your doctors?

You say that you gave a brief breakdown of your disability in your OP but all you did was list your surgeries, not the effect on your day to day life. DLA is for care and/or mobility needs and you need to emphasize your needs when filling out the forms, not just the treatment you've received. Are you getting help from CAB or elsewhere to fill out your form?

As Horseunderwater said it may be helpful for you to read the descriptors for DLA mobility to see if any actually apply to you. You can read them here:
DWP Decision Makers guide to DLA
http://www.dwp.gov.uk/docs/dmgch61.pdf

Do you know if they wrote to your doctors before making the decision? As Anubis said it may be worth contacting the DWP and asking them to send you the information they used to make the decision as often claims are turned down either because the doctors report didn't include enough information or contradicted what you put on the form.