DLA - going to appeal

Im sorry to say this but you will not get any extra, even if you have lost an arm. Arms, hands and fingers do not impeded your walking which is what DLA is designed to help with Mobility issues, you may get low to mid rate carers allowance but not the mobility part, sorry. If you are at risk from walking or are menatlly ill then you make be asked to attend a medical exam but other than that i can offer you anymore help, i spent 5 years working for the social secrity office (benifits agency) so know a few ways round but cant help you.

make sure you're prepared for the appeal, take someone who has been before with you, they asked questions they shouldnt have at my MIL's,

Anthillmob wrote:

im not after mobility as im aware i wont qualify for that at the moment unless my knee gives out. im after mid-high rate care.

I know this isn't easy to get.
My Husbands aunt only gets low rate care and she can't walk and is in a wheel chair. Had a bad car accident a few years ago.
When i worked for social services i hardly knew anyone getting mid rate care or high rate care.
Sorry Anthillmob.
Maybe trying for the mobility side might be better for you. Just a thought. If you need the help you said you did in your earlier posts (which i am sure you do )then you will be entitled to some mobility benefit.
Hope this is of some help.
Emily.

Anthillmob wrote:

ive told them twice i am unable to cook a meal. was told on the pohone this is classed as 'domestic' and therefore dont count!

Totally my own opinions....

The low rate care component consists of the "meal test". The question is :Can you cook a meal yourself. You must have failed to meal test, hence you get low rate care.

Mobility - I can't see how you would get this.

You said you are after med/high rate. I cannot see you ever getting high rate. High rate is if you need repeated and/or prolonged help in the day AND night. From the info you have given i can't see you sucessfully arguing this one. Med rate is if you need repeated and/or help in the day OR night. You'd really have to show how you need this help during the day. You could try but whether you'd argue it sucessfully is debatable.

Personally from what you have said i reckon you might get middle rate but more than likely they'll stick at saying you just need low rate care. I have read what you have said about your problems but from the people i see with very complex and multiple disabilites who only get middle rate care, I can't see how you could argue a case as needing the same level of help/support and consequently, benefits. I am not saying this to be nasty or rude, just stating my own opinion. You have nothing to lose by appealing but I am just making a cautionary note so you are not disappointed if you appeal is unsuccessful.

You are aware that it is possible they could REDUCE you award?I.e. reduce your DLA to nothing and take away what you already have. [just something to bear in mind]

How do you manage to type on MSE so much if you problems are so severe? How do you manage at your job if your problems are so severe (I seem to remember you do some sort of clerical job?).

I am aware that people on DLA do work BUT there is often the assumption that if you work, then your problems can't be bad enough to warrant DLA.(unless it is someone in a wheelchair wanting high mobility but also working)Be prepared for the panel to ask you if you work, how you manage to work. I have been at appeals where the claimant has been asked if they work and then despite them having a good case for DLA the panel have very clearly taken the stance that if you are well enough to work then your problem/disability cannot be as bad as you have made out. Consequently no DLA. If you have a clerical/office job and your are arguing that your hands are so bad that you cannot wipe your own bum then be prepared for the panel to ask you in depth about this apparent inconsistency. The trouble is, it does look inconsistent!!! (whether or not it is true - it looks dodgy!) I am convinced they generally start from the possition that they look for inconsistencies in what you are saying/doing to turn down an appeal (or so this is my theory from experience).
I can think of one case where then man put in a claim for DLA, went to appeal and it was rejected totally and for the panel it was clear that his whole case hinged round the fact that he was still working at the time (despite his disability being largely unrelated to his employment). The panel were quite sympathetic until they asked him if he worked. Then they clearly startede to disbelieve him. The thing is, soon after the appeal he became too ill to work. He put in another claim for DLA and this also went to appeal. I went to the appeal with him and 2 of the panel member were the same. His claim forms were almost word-for-word identical, he told them practically the same things at the appeal as he did at the first appeal. EXCEPT when asked if he was working he told them he was not working because his condition had become so bad it had forced him to resign from work. Result - mid rate care.







.

Did you put things down on the form such as difficulty in popping meds out of the foil packets or taking the top off bottles? Also do you need help getting in and out of the bath for safety if your hands are bad at gripping and are weak? Can you manage to dress yourself fully or do you need help with buttons and zips? Do you need help cleaning your teeth when your hands are bad? or using the loo for that matter? These are all the things that Welfare rights asked me and wrote down when i had my appeal. Contact them they know the wording to use and as well as that they will take a typical day off you, they start at what time do you get out of bed and how and how do you get to the bathroom what whelp do you need and then onto breakfast etc. Added to that have you had an assessment done by the occupational therapists for aids in the home? sorry i haven't read all the thread, if you haven't it would definitely be in your favour.

EDIT I think for middle rate care you have to need help during the night to get to the bathroom and use the Loo, or someone with you for pain medication during the night etc, you really have to think like a criminal now to qualify for DLA, it really is disheartening.