Denied DLA - Help

jack36

Hey guys, i'll keep this as brief as possible.. A few years ago i was involved in a car crash, months in hospital, end result left leg off below the knee, but due to the extent of the injuries, the whole of my stump is reconstructed and is scar tissue. It rubs a lot which means i can't use a prosthesis all the time so get around on crutches, I'm 36 so still pretty fit up top.

Accident happened Sep 2006, on IB & DLA while i got a degree in Uni (2 yrs college, 3 yrs Uni) ... Finished Uni, got a part time job in May 2011 helping out autistic/aspergers kids etc... Jan 2012 i get a letter from IB saying i need to do ATOS assessment, no big deal i'm thinking, by the time the assessment comes around i've been going through a bad spell, being on crutches since November 2011, attend assessment, nice young lady, seems quite sympathetic etc.. Get decision a few weeks later, scored zero out of fifteen points, they even gave me no restrictions/100% fit on getting around... This was before it became common knowledge that ATOS weren't being fair. I had read that you had to score 12 in order to stand a chance of appealing so didn't bother.

Fast forward to June 2012, i get renewal for my DLA, so i fill it in exactly how i have done for the previous years, (i kept photocopies) Decision takes 7 weeks to come back, Denied everything, based on the ATOS assessment i had.. So now i'm confused, I am genuinely disabled, i get around on crutches with one leg missing, but yet i'm not entitled to any disability living allowance??

Got the decision 5 weeks ago, have since started another part time job as i can't get by on the wages of one, but i was under the impression that i can still claim DLA & work if i am disabled?

I'm lost, don't know what to do? In the process of writing a letter as i feel i have been robbed...

Any thoughts?

jack36

I don't get any other benefits by the way... Live with my dad, he works full time

rogerblack

In principle, you can make a late appeal of your ESA decision.
This is unlikely to be fruitful, for a number of reasons - a primary one being you're capable of getting around using a manual wheelchair or crutches.
'Just' losing one foot does not entitle you to ESA.

You should have appealed the DLA decision before now, unfortunately, if you have had the decision 5 weeks ago, you now have to make a 'late appeal'.
Write a letter explaining the above, requesting an appeal and noting that the ESA test is not the same as the DLA test.
Specifically - http://www.dwp.gov.uk/docs/dmgch61.pdf

Example 1
Derrick has had part of his right lower limb amputated and cannot use a prosthesis
as his wound has not healed properly and is sore. He propels himself forward using
two crutches. He swings both his legs forward whilst putting all his weight on his
crutches, and is therefore swinging through. In this case he cannot be said to be
“walking”. The DM decides Derrick is entitled to the higher rate mobility component

See 61313 and subsequent.
You need to point out:
You have only one foot.
You cannot use an appliance due to medical issues above.
You use crutches, and 'swing through'.

This entitles you to HRM.
It is worth, in addition to making a late appeal, putting in a fresh claim for DLA, as that may result in payment sooner.
The appealed amount should be paid later, if the appeal is allowed out-of-time.

Your ability to mobilise - get around, which is important for ESA - is entirely irrelevant to DLA, if you only have one foot, use crutches, and 'swing through'.
You are treated as virtually unable to walk.
If the decisionmaker decided you were not, this is an official error, if it should have been evident on the claim pack.

Note however that you are unlikely to qualify for PIP, which is coming in in several years time, as you are able to 'mobilise' in a wheelchair, or crutches adequately.

jack36

Thanks for explaining that Roger, i'll get on that case right away...

Cheers .. Jack

lemontree

Good Luck Jack!
Also think about involving your MP as my Son scored NIL points even though medical problems involved many Emergency Admissions to Hospital which meant he was rarely home.
After a 6 months battle (getting nowhere)MP sorted this out in about 10 days!
You could do this whilst you are following Rogers excellent advice!

speedyturtle

Atos : Can you breath?
You : Yes
Atos : You are fit enough to work.

Good luck with your appeal.

Muttleythefrog

Good luck... but as above... it's frustrating you didn't act sooner. And things like "I had read that you had to score 12 in order to stand a chance of appealing so didn't bother" is just wrong... in fact I suspect that if you get zero descriptors found to apply.. and therefore 0 points on WRAG descriptors to which you refer.. then it may be easier to discredit the medical report. But as above.. MPs seem to sometimes have remarkable impact in such benefit claims where things have gone wrong... so bear that possibility in mind.

Dekota

If anyone can help me with this I'll be eternally grateful

Was the DLA claim form in 2006 called DLA1A and was the renewal DLA form in 2008 called DLA580? Just that I need to request my mums file and its quicker if I'm specific...

thanks

benefitbaby

challfour wrote: »

My MP has made a point of advertising his surgeries in the local paper at various halls etc in the area and underneath has mentioned that he will not entertain any welfare benefit enquiries. He has signposted those that have those problems to the CAB!

Are they allowed to do this under their Code of Conduct?

Each CAB is an independent charity not an arm of Government.

rogerblack

Dekota wrote: »

If anyone can help me with this I'll be eternally grateful

Was the DLA claim form in 2006 called DLA1A and was the renewal DLA form in 2008 called DLA580? Just that I need to request my mums file and its quicker if I'm specific...

thanks

It is extremely likely these will have been destroyed, if there was more recent info.
It is possibly easier to simply request the whole file.
http://www.dwp.gov.uk/privacy-policy/data-protection/

rogerblack

challfour wrote: »

No idea, but apparently someone that went to see him with a problem that they were having with their benefits was told by him that the place to go to is the CAB, and not him.

The full details of why someone is entitled, or not entitled to ESA can be really quite complex - it's a specialised area of law, and a MP may not actually be best placed to understand this.

I'd personally say that a MP should at best be - if not quite a last resort - at least someone you go to when you've got a full picture of what the issues are with your claim.

For example - turning up with the letter dissalowing benefit to the MP is rarely going to be clearcut to him, for all but the most obvious cases.

(for example, a quadraplegic who's been assessed as able to mobilise 200m)