Recovering from badly broken leg - only basic UC allowance and struggling financially

BikerMooFromMars

Hi all
I got hit by a car back in April 2022 and my lower right leg was shattered. I had a big frame around it, had to do bone adjustments and was in a wheelchair then crutches for a long while. It's been a hell of an ordeal but I'm so grateful to be getting back to normality and my small business again!



I am getting my life back on track and re-starting my dog walking business as of this year (I haven't told UC yet but will do next week). I can't walk as many dogs as I used to, or ones that are particularly strong etc. I charge £15 per dog per hour, the business is mine and I had just started it in January 2022.

It's been a very difficult time the past 1.5years unsurprisingly. I receive £368.74 monthly from Universal Credit, but this barely covers my mortgage, let alone any other bills etc (I own my house and live alone). I have been getting by with interim payments from the insurance of the car driver who hit me, but I've just found out I won't be getting any more payments (they are entitled to stop them whenever they want), and it could be another year or 2 until I receive my payout yet so I'm going to be in dire straights. I've also found out that the payments I've received until now will be deducted from my final payout.

I didn't know about other benefits I might have been entitled to earlier on, and I was overwhelmed and struggling mentally when I attempted to apply for PIP a while ago (I let the application expire).

Apparently I should have been receiving a lot more from Universal Credit considering my condition - I wasn't advised by them that I could receive any more than what I was getting of course and they knew how serious my condition was. A friend of mine with mental health issues told me she receives £700-ish a month from UC?? I also struggle from mental health issues since all this - depression after the accident and now anxiety mainly to do with driving since - I have seen a counsellor a few times abut this. And I had a mental health assessment for my claim recently where they believe I might also have ADHD and dylexia (it wasn't a formal diagnosis though).

I've recently found out that if I claimed for PIP I could have got a car too - I ended up getting money off the insurers (which will come out of my final payout) for a used car that would fit my electric wheelchair in - it took forever to arrange, and it has cost me a small fortune in repairs already too. I'm gutted to say the least!

I'm guessing it is too late to do anything about any of it now and doubt I can back date, but is there any way at all I can get more support? I'm much more able now (definitely couldn't apply for PIP now), however I am still approximately a year off of full recovery apparently with getting my strength back etc. I can work but at a limited capacity and it will take time to get more custom.

Any advice gratefully received, thank you!

Spoonie_Turtle

BikerMooFromMars said:

Hi all
I got hit by a car back in April 2022 and my lower right leg was shattered. I had a big frame around it, had to do bone adjustments and was in a wheelchair then crutches for a long while. It's been a hell of an ordeal but I'm so grateful to be getting back to normality and my small business again!

…

I am getting my life back on track and re-starting my dog walking business as of this year (I haven't told UC yet but will do next week). I can't walk as many dogs as I used to, or ones that are particularly strong etc. I charge £15 per dog per hour, the business is mine and I had just started it in January 2022.

…

I've recently found out that if I claimed for PIP I could have got a car too - I ended up getting money off the insurers (which will come out of my final payout) for a used car that would fit my electric wheelchair in - it took forever to arrange, and it has cost me a small fortune in repairs already too. I'm gutted to say the least!

With PIP, there's no guarantee you'd have qualified for the high rate mobility part unless you couldn't use crutches or some other aid to move (not necessarily walk on two legs) more than 20m reliably and repeatedly.  You also have to have that high level of difficulties for at least a year (3months before you apply, and expected to continue for at least 9months after) and I don't know that you'd have been able to have a Motability car with a short award even if you'd qualified for PIP. 
[The fact you are getting back to dog walking implies that even if you would have qualified originally, you no longer have that level of difficulty and it's been less than two years so chances are any award would have been short.  Which is good for you that you're starting to get back to normal, and also means you probably didn't miss out on much, if anything.]

BikerMooFromMars said:

Apparently I should have been receiving a lot more from Universal Credit considering my condition - I wasn't advised by them that I could receive any more than what I was getting of course and they knew how serious my condition was. A friend of mine with mental health issues told me she receives £700-ish a month from UC?? I also struggle from mental health issues since all this - depression after the accident and now anxiety mainly to do with driving since - I have seen a counsellor a few times abut this. And I had a mental health assessment for my claim recently where they believe I might also have ADHD and dylexia (it wasn't a formal diagnosis though).

For UC, realistically you'd have had to be unable to reliably and repeatedly self-propel a wheelchair for more than 50m because of a health condition, or alternatively unable to transfer between seats next to each other unaided.  Without any other physical conditions mentioned, I don't see that you'd have qualified for LCWRA which is the extra disability element and presumably what your friend receives.  You can see the criteria here https://www.benefitsandwork.co.uk/universal-credit-uc/uc-faq/limited-capability-for-work-related-activity

That link is also relevant to mental health issues and neurodivergence; you can see how high the threshold is and whether you think you might qualify at all.  The lower level of health … 'recognition', for want of a better word, is LCW.  I say recognition because it does officially mean you're not expected to look for work and for self-employment you would not be subject to the MIF, but it doesn't pay a whole extra element like LCWRA does.  Descriptors for LCW are here https://www.benefitsandwork.co.uk/universal-credit-uc/uc-faq/limited-capability-for-work


Sorry you've had such a tough time of it; I wish you well with continued recovery.  Unless I'm missing something there's not anything major you were guaranteed to be able to claim - you've seen the level of 'support' the system gives for yourself, but maybe it's a tiny crumb of comfort that you haven't definitely missed out on a ton of help.

HillStreetBlues

As you have interim payments have you  set up a personal injury trust? as that will protect that money from income related benefits such as UC.

Also any benefits you claim due to the incident will be deducted from the insurance reducing the final payout.
So you won't have lost any money by not claiming PIP once you get the final settlement.

Rubyroobs

Did you declare your health condition when you first claimed UC ? If so then you should have been asked to provide sick notes and would have been assessed for work capability. Did you ever have this assessment?

BikerMooFromMars

Rubyroobs said:

Did you declare your health condition when you first claimed UC ? If so then you should have been asked to provide sick notes and would have been assessed for work capability. Did you ever have this assessment?

Omg! It was all so long ago and such a blur now that I didn’t remember…but looking through my UC online account I can see that I did have this assessment…so why didn’t my payments increase??




I need to contact them. I wonder if they can back date them. Although HillStreetBlues has pointed out that any money from UC will be deducted from my final payout anyway so it isn’t ‘free’…but it would certainly help me in the meantime.

Thank you all so much! 

BikerMooFromMars

HillStreetBlues said:

As you have interim payments have you  set up a personal injury trust? as that will protect that money from income related benefits such as UC.

Also any benefits you claim due to the incident will be deducted from the insurance reducing the final payout.
So you won't have lost any money by not claiming PIP once you get the final settlement.

This is so helpful, thank you so much!! I didn’t know it would be deducted - that’s annoying! But I need the money now and it looks like I should have been awarded a lot more money since at least April last year 🤦‍♀️.
I’ll be in touch with UC to get this sorted ASAP. Thabks you so much for your help! 

Newcad

You have an award of  Limited Capability for Work (LCW).
Unfortunately that does not entitle you to extra money.

Limited Capability for Work (LCW) only pays the extra money if you were first awarded LCW before 3rd April 2017.

If you were first awarded LCW after 3rd April 2017 then LCW does not pay any extra, it just reduces you Claimant Commentments so that you don't have to jobsearch or apply for jobs.

Since 3rd April 2017 only an award of Limited Capability for Work and Work Related Activity (LCWRA) pays any extra money.
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/universal-credit-changes-to-limited-capability-for-work-payments/changes-to-limited-capability-for-work-payments-in-universal-credit

A claimant with a health condition or disability who makes a claim for Universal Credit on or after 3 April 2017, and who is found to have limited capability for work following a WCA, will not get any additional payment of Universal Credit.

It is the same in both UC and ESA, no extra money for LCW unless it was first awarded before 3rd April 2017.

BikerMooFromMars

Newcad said:

You have an award of  Limited Capability for Work (LCW).
Unfortunately that does not entitle you to extra money.

Limited Capability for Work (LCW) only pays the extra money if you were first awarded LCW before 3rd April 2017.

If you were first awarded LCW after 3rd April 2017 then LCW does not pay any extra, it just reduces you Claimant Commentments so that you don't have to jobsearch or apply for jobs.

Since 3rd April 2017 only an award of Limited Capability for Work and Work Related Activity (LCWRA) pays any extra money.
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/universal-credit-changes-to-limited-capability-for-work-payments/changes-to-limited-capability-for-work-payments-in-universal-credit

A claimant with a health condition or disability who makes a claim for Universal Credit on or after 3 April 2017, and who is found to have limited capability for work following a WCA, will not get any additional payment of Universal Credit.

It is the same in both UC and ESA, no extra money for LCW unless it was first awarded before 3rd April 2017.

That’s strange - this is up to date information from the government website and it doesn’t say that I’m only eligible if I started claiming before April 2017?
https://www.gov.uk/universal-credit/what-youll-get

It says 2023-2024 too?

KxMx

BikerMooFromMars said:

Newcad said:

You have an award of  Limited Capability for Work (LCW).
Unfortunately that does not entitle you to extra money.

Limited Capability for Work (LCW) only pays the extra money if you were first awarded LCW before 3rd April 2017.

If you were first awarded LCW after 3rd April 2017 then LCW does not pay any extra, it just reduces you Claimant Commentments so that you don't have to jobsearch or apply for jobs.

Since 3rd April 2017 only an award of Limited Capability for Work and Work Related Activity (LCWRA) pays any extra money.
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/universal-credit-changes-to-limited-capability-for-work-payments/changes-to-limited-capability-for-work-payments-in-universal-credit

A claimant with a health condition or disability who makes a claim for Universal Credit on or after 3 April 2017, and who is found to have limited capability for work following a WCA, will not get any additional payment of Universal Credit.

It is the same in both UC and ESA, no extra money for LCW unless it was first awarded before 3rd April 2017.

That’s strange - this is up to date information from the government website and it doesn’t say that I’m only eligible if I started claiming before April 2017?
https://www.gov.uk/universal-credit/what-youll-get

It says 2023-2024 too?

That is the amount anyone eligible will get each year- and to be eligible for that LCW payment the LCW decision has to have been made pre April 2017 as advised.
Each year generally the rates go up which is what you are seeing.
It is not payable on any WCA outcomes after April 2017.

born_again

BikerMooFromMars said:

Newcad said:

You have an award of  Limited Capability for Work (LCW).
Unfortunately that does not entitle you to extra money.

Limited Capability for Work (LCW) only pays the extra money if you were first awarded LCW before 3rd April 2017.

If you were first awarded LCW after 3rd April 2017 then LCW does not pay any extra, it just reduces you Claimant Commentments so that you don't have to jobsearch or apply for jobs.

Since 3rd April 2017 only an award of Limited Capability for Work and Work Related Activity (LCWRA) pays any extra money.
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/universal-credit-changes-to-limited-capability-for-work-payments/changes-to-limited-capability-for-work-payments-in-universal-credit

A claimant with a health condition or disability who makes a claim for Universal Credit on or after 3 April 2017, and who is found to have limited capability for work following a WCA, will not get any additional payment of Universal Credit.

It is the same in both UC and ESA, no extra money for LCW unless it was first awarded before 3rd April 2017.

That’s strange - this is up to date information from the government website and it doesn’t say that I’m only eligible if I started claiming before April 2017?
https://www.gov.uk/universal-credit/what-youll-get

It says 2023-2024 too?

LCWRA pays Not LCA                                                                                                                                                                                           If you have Limited capability for work and work-related activity £390.06

If you have limited capability for work and you started your health-related Universal Credit or Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) claim before 3 April 2017 £146.31

poppy12345

BikerMooFromMars said:

That’s strange - this is up to date information from the government website and it doesn’t say that I’m only eligible if I started claiming before April 2017?
https://www.gov.uk/universal-credit/what-youll-get

It says 2023-2024 too?

You missed a whole part of the information that was given in that link. It says the following...

if you have a disability or health condition

How much you’ll get	Extra monthly amount
If you have limited capability for work and work-related activity	£390.06
If you have limited capability for work and you started your health-related Universal Credit or Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) claim before 3 April 2017	£146.31