Hello,I have just received date of my DLA appeal for early March and are starting to worry about what to expect can anybody help with the following
*What to expect on the day,inc what sort of questions
*What are the chances of getting DLA ,after previous turned down,what 5 get passed at appeal.
*Things to do or not do on the day
*Can anyone share their experience of the appeal
*Ihave joined welf/rights site
I have PPMS and walk with stick,have wheel chair at work,I have a letter of my OT and MS nurse to support,and will have welf/rights with me on the day.
Thank you for reading my post and any advice is greatly appreciated.
Thought I would share my thoughts as I went through the appeal process. I took my mum along for support and also have supporting letters from my MS nurse and GP. Mine was at Southampton Court. So we dressed smartly (like we would for work really) and tried to be as best prepared as possible.
The chaps that were on the board were very very nice people - but…they go through everything on your form and really do have an answer for all of it so be prepared. For example I was asked if I could carry a boiling pot of potatos. I answered no. I am too weak - so they said in that case Hayley you would spoon the potatos out of the pan and onto a plate and ask a visitor over the coming days to empty the saucepan…Okayyyyyy.
At the end of the interview they asked me to step outside whilst they made a decsion. When I was called back in I was basically told that I was far too stoiac (not sure i spelt that correctly) about my condition, turned out well and come across really well - and too be fair they thought I could manage without DLA (the reason I applied in the first place was folowing a big relapse my left leak became really weak and I had to buy an automatic car to continue to work, perscription costs, parking costs at hospitals etc etc - life with MS can be expensive)! So - I didnt get it. Well I thought my mother was going to throw herself across the desk, but she controlled herself. We complained - re-applied and am now awaiting a decision.
This is a very vague over view of my experience - feel free to message me if you want to talk more. But they honestly were very decent people to me.
when you appeal, you have 1 month from refusal; you will receive all the correspondence from your doctors so will see who is to blame. It is invariable your Neuro or GP who are being scarce with the truth: the DLA assessor can only go on what’s in front of them.
The answers below are occurrences doctors would not know about.
At the appeal there are 3 people asking questions, a doctor, solicitor and social services agent. Don’t worry there usually very nice and make you feel at home.
Just a few ideas of the way you should answer the questions.
While hobbling along the High Street I keep near to the shops. This aids me in two ways; I am less likely to fall into the road and I can stop and look in shop windows to get a rest. I can testify that Ann Summers has the best window display.
To get High Rate you must show you need help during the night. Say something like, “I get up 2/3/4 times per night to go to the toilet, sometimes to no avail.” “My husband has to accompany me; this takes about 45 minutes each time and obviously breaks his sleep.” “It’s amazing just knowing he is there gives me so much confidence.” “He has to accompany me because once I fell over and slept where I lay that night, good job it was the middle of summer and warm.”
The hearing lasts about 20 minutes and then you are asked to go to another room. Another 20 minutes and then you are asked back in and told the result. It is very important to have someone attend with you.
Simple rule ‘don’t say one word when 100 will do’ in other words explain in detail. Always quote your worst; they appreciate MS is a variable condition. Be very careful though as there are some mistakes you could make like do not say your housebound as that begs the question why do you need the mobility component? Say “I would like to go out more if I could afford to” The examples are that examples if they are not true don’t use them.