Question about DLA

snugglepet20

Hi all

Just need some advice, about 6 months ago I started to get really bad back pain. I had an MRI and my spine is being worn away so I had to quit work and I am on painkillers and in pain all the time etc. I have a car which I am tied into paying until December 2013 and I need it to take the children to school and nursery but I can't really afford it now I am on ESA.

My question is how bad does your walking ability need to be to get DLA? I can walk to the end of the street but definitely not the 3 miles to school and tbh sometimes I am too bad to even drive the car.

Thanks

trastor

snugglepet20 wrote: »

Hi all

Just need some advice, about 6 months ago I started to get really bad back pain. I had an MRI and my spine is being worn away so I had to quit work and I am on painkillers and in pain all the time etc. I have a car which I am tied into paying until December 2013 and I need it to take the children to school and nursery but I can't really afford it now I am on ESA.

My question is how bad does your walking ability need to be to get DLA? I can walk to the end of the street but definitely not the 3 miles to school and tbh sometimes I am too bad to even drive the car.

Thanks

DLA is being scrapped starting from April 2013.It is being replaced with PIP.

For DLA, you have to show that you can't walk or virtually cannot walk for more than 50 metres without suffering extreme pain and discomfort.

For PIP (you will be moved over from DLA) you cannot walk or virtually cannot walk 50 metres and you have a mental illness that makes it impossible for you to plan how to get from one place to another without guidance.

Or you are wheelchair bound but still cannot move the wheelchair with you in it more than 50 metres.

rogerblack

snugglepet20 wrote:

My question is how bad does your walking ability need to be to get DLA? I can walk to the end of the street but definitely not the 3 miles to school

If you are in severe discomfort when walking, even if you can walk longer distances than 30-40m, you are entitled to HRM.
_Not_ extreme pain.
You need to meet the qualifying conditions for 3 months in the past, and 6 months in the future.
These are referred to as the forward and backward tests.

it might be worth investigating getting a cheaper car and seeing if you can return this one early.

[Deleted User]

Whether a person can be awarded DLA is not simply dependent on ability to walk, it is also dependant on the person's ability to look after themselves. DLA is awarded in two components, a care component and a mobility component. The care component deals with if a person needs more help than is usual to perform certain tasks like dressing, feeding, etc. It also takes into account if a person needs help during the night (like for example with toileting, turning in bed etc). It has three portions, lower, middle and higher. I suggest you do some further research into this because your concentration on the mobility side of it suggests that you might not be familiar with how DLA works.

The best advice I can give which is advice I was given when applying for DLA for my son is if you decide to apply for DLA give examples of your worst days. If you say sometimes I can get dressed independently but most of the time I need help.., the person assessing the form will only note that on some days u need no help and will score you accordingly.

It is true that from April 2013 -14 DLA will be stopped and a new benefit called PIP will replace it. However, depending on when they apply the change to the replacement benefit in your area, for your age group.., this change could be a couple of years away. I have just read on one pdf that they don't expect to have everyone on PIP until 2016! If you were awarded DLA, you would be notified when the changeover to PIP was to take place for you and then you would have to restart the assessment process again. DLA would be paid until a decision was reached about PIP in your case. So if you think its worth applying for, its still worth applying for inspite of the changes.

If you were turned down for DLA on your initial claim, you can appeal. I did in my son's case and the appeal was granted. It was a stressful and lengthy process but it was well worth applying for as it does help with the additional costs looking after someone with disabilities. I would advise you again to do your research as to what DLA is, and how best to phrase your answers on the form to help a successful outcome. There may be organisations in your area that help with this.., again look on the net, see the CAB.

rogerblack

deannatrois wrote: »

The best advice I can give which is advice I was given when applying for DLA for my son is if you decide to apply for DLA give examples of your worst days. If you say sometimes I can get dressed independently but most of the time I need help.., the person assessing the form will only note that on some days u need no help and will score you accordingly.

Doing this amounts to benefit fraud, and will at best result in your claim being ended, at worst prosecution for benefit fraud, possible imprisonment, and confiscation of your house.

intranicity

rogerblack wrote: »

Doing this amounts to benefit fraud, and will at best result in your claim being ended, at worst prosecution for benefit fraud, possible imprisonment, and confiscation of your house.

Not sure I see that as fraud, are you meant to fill the forms in as you are on your best days or worst days?

Seems to make sense to be honest, but truthful, but many people say to fill in as you are on your bad/worst days?

mazza111

rogerblack wrote: »

Doing this amounts to benefit fraud, and will at best result in your claim being ended, at worst prosecution for benefit fraud, possible imprisonment, and confiscation of your house.

Only if it doesn't apply though roger. I can't do my own socks, but does it matter if I don't wear socks? In the winter I get my son to put on my socks, in the summer I wear mule type shoes/sandals to avoid needing help iykwim. I don't claim DLA though, but if I find myself if the position of needing to, I would probably still put down that I can manage most of dressing myself but need help with certain tasks. Hope I've made sense in what I've been trying to say.

I love my mule shoes!!!!! Even through this wet summer I've had nothing else on my feet

snugglepet20

Thanks for your replies. I don't need help with personal care but I am finding it hard to get out and go places due to the pain and I get really tired very quickly. I am also getting quite self-concious because I have started limping because my legs have gone lopsided and the damage is worse on one side of the spine. 6 months ago I was fine, I never would have thought you could feel this ill all the time! I think I will send off the form and see what they say, the worst they can do is turn me down.

rogerblack

intranicity wrote: »

Not sure I see that as fraud, are you meant to fill the forms in as you are on your best days or worst days?

Seems to make sense to be honest, but truthful, but many people say to fill in as you are on your bad/worst days?

I was responding specifically to:

give examples of your worst days.... If you say sometimes I can get dressed independently but most of the time I need help.., the person assessing the form will only note that on some days u need no help and will score you accordingly.


If you do not mention the good days, you are giving a misleading picture of your disability.
And the issue of what happens if someone reports you arises.
If you have not mentioned the good days, someone sees you on one, then you are liable to be found not to have been entitled to benefit at all.
Penalties from this vary from merely having to pay it back, to the others I mentioned.

Cpt.Scarlet

I have to agree with Roger, there have been several high profile cases over the last year or so, where the defendant's defence was that they had been told to complete the application based on their worst day, they lost, and had to pay back all of the benefit they had been paid.

mazza111

Sorry Roger i missed the worse days part. I still think it's a good idea to put down some days if in fact some days you do need help though. Some conditions can vary greatly from day to day, and there is no such thing as an average day iykwim. Like me with my socks for example, just because I don't wear them for approximately 6 months of the year (probably longer) doesn't mean that I don't need help with them.


DD has been on crutches now for a year, can only use one of them today because she's also developed a shoulder problem and the crutch is making things worse up there, but only using 1 is causing more problems on her bottom half :wall: But I suppose someone could still report her if they seen her out with one crutch.