DLA.. moving goalposts???

Chrysalis

shykins I have heard a lot of similiar stories with people having conditions that qualified years back but recently they losing their awards as if the goalposts have been moved. Its nice to hear tho that some people have had success with reconsiderations.

Morglin

shykins wrote: »

firsst time i applied they turned me down but i asked for a reconsideration and was awarded High mobility and middle care......when my year was up i reapplied and when i was awarded nothing the reconsideration didnt change anything so lets hope asking to appeal might

i find it hard to beleive they can award me from high mobility down to nothing when i have a degenerative back problem (ie gets worse not better)....oh well....i can understand they need to check if u are still ill but surely somethings are exempt from that as they will never get better

thanks for the comments i have asked for a copy of the drs report etc that they are basing their decision on so i can challenge that if needs be

watch this space as they say
x

As you only got the initial award for a year, it sounds as if the DWP think that the condition would have improved, which is not the case if a condition is degenerative.

Go for appeal (they will look at it again anyway), and ask a CAB or welfare worker to help you with it.

You should also ask to see GP and consultant reports, as it doesn't sound as though the medcial back up has been that strong.

Lin

shykins

thanks everyone i have asked for the reports etc now so will see when they come, it sounds like they havent even contacted my consultant which seems a bit weird but we shall see

why is everything so flipping difficult <sigh>

x

Chrysalis

as I found out when applying they can simply choose to not contact your gp/specialist and still turn you down without any medical evidence supporting their decision which I think should be illegal. If they think someone shouldnt qualify really they should have evidence backing their decision up.

If you appeal as Lin will probably tell you make sure you get the evidence of your consultant to support your claim and ideally get someone to represent you as well.

My own tribunal is early nov and I have yet to hear of my representative in preperation for it (regarding evidence obtaining for me and what to say etc.) I am worried because of the post strikes any letter sent to me may be delayed and I may miss an appointment, cant get hold of him on the phone as I think he snowed under with work. So is a nightmare for me also at the moment

shykins

i know my consultant is supportive cos he told me he would support any claim i made, i shant be happy if the GP wasnt after the year i have had.. i am waiting for the info which they based their decision on .. no doubt lost in post delays

do hope u get yours thru in time and fingers crossed it goes well. do let me know
x

Cute_'n'_Quirky

I have a friend whom was given LRC and LRM when she can barely walk. She had an accident over 10 years ago. She has ankle and knee problems, etc needs both an ankle and a knee replacement - she is only 34.

She went to appeal. The Case took over 3 hours. Then they wanted an EMP Doctor to visit her home. He refuted every single thing that both her GP and her Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon said in writing.

She is now going to the final appeal at the end of October.

I got my HRM and LRC with no problems whatsoever but my renewal isn't due for another year yet.

nad1611

~Chameleon~ wrote: »

That's interesting as I recently had a successful reconsideration following a renewal which dropped me from HR to LR care, but they've now reinstated it to HR and paid back the money I should have received the last 3mths. I think I must have been incredibly lucky then

I don't think luck has anything to do with it. I read somewhere that 60% of peopple who appeal win their cases. This happened to me I appealed or rather asked for the decision to be looked at again and sent in a letter actually written by my G.P. when the benefits agencies ask for info from Doctors they like you will only be responding to questions asked, whereas if you ask for a letter from your G.P telling them exactly why you need it, this often carries a lot more weight than form filling. Don't be put off it just is not true to say appleals or decisions are rarely overturned, they are and you can read about them on here every day. So go ahead ask for a further look at the decision, ask for the evidence they looked at and ask for a letter from your G.P

Chrysalis

Cute_n_Quirky wrote: »

I have a friend whom was given LRC and LRM when she can barely walk. She had an accident over 10 years ago. She has ankle and knee problems, etc needs both an ankle and a knee replacement - she is only 34.

She went to appeal. The Case took over 3 hours. Then they wanted an EMP Doctor to visit her home. He refuted every single thing that both her GP and her Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon said in writing.

She is now going to the final appeal at the end of October.

I got my HRM and LRC with no problems whatsoever but my renewal isn't due for another year yet.

Blimey her situation makes my situation look not as bad, I wish her the best of luck. But her case is a prime example how a EMP report is held above all else, you would think a GP and especially a consultants report would be held in higher regard since the consultant would be a specialist in the condition whilst the EMP is someone who sees you once for a short period of time and assesses you on face value they generally have the medical knowledge equivalent to GPs. It seems EMPs are been used as an excuse to turn people down who have a good case rather then been used when no medical evidence is available.

Your case she had supporting evidence from two sources and should have been a no brainer for the decision maker to reward benefit under the grounds of virtually unable to walk or even unable to walk. Whats also strange is she got LRM which is supposed to be for people who get dizzy and confused etc. rather then the condition she has so technically they dont even know their own rules.

My case I supplied no evidence but did supply my GP and physio contact details they decided to use neither so you would expect in my case for them to involve an EMP due to no medical evidence but instead I was directly turned down.

I hope people can see here how decision makers are not treating claims neutrally at least in some cases.

The two things in common between us both we are both young I am 28. I am sure the prospect of rewarding people long term benefits for decades isnt attractive.

Chrysalis

nad1611 wrote: »

I don't think luck has anything to do with it. I read somewhere that 60% of peopple who appeal win their cases. This happened to me I appealed or rather asked for the decision to be looked at again and sent in a letter actually written by my G.P. when the benefits agencies ask for info from Doctors they like you will only be responding to questions asked, whereas if you ask for a letter from your G.P telling them exactly why you need it, this often carries a lot more weight than form filling. Don't be put off it just is not true to say appleals or decisions are rarely overturned, they are and you can read about them on here every day. So go ahead ask for a further look at the decision, ask for the evidence they looked at and ask for a letter from your G.P

Sorry for the confusion, appeals and reconsiderations are two different things. Appeals do have good success rates as you have pointed out, reconsiderations are different tho. A reconsideration is where it goes back to another decision maker who decides to sustain or overule the original decision an appeal goes to an independent tribunal.

~Chameleon~

I don't know whether anyone on this thread is claiming DLA on MH grounds, but something I've recently discovered, which might help a lot of people, is that the DM's are not even considering making an award to anyone who doesn't include a Care Plan from their CMHT.

I can't remember whether I've mentioned it before but this might well explain why so many people are being turned down lately, so do remember to send in a copy of your Care Plan with your application/renewal/appeal papers etc, and make sure your CPN/OT/SW or whoever you see regularly has got it up to date and includes absolutely everything on it in detail.