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Very new to this as husband had near fatal accident

Loumc48

Hello !
my husband had a near fatal RTA nine weeks ago, was in an induced coma for four weeks and two weeks after was thankfully discharged and is home! I had to give up my job as now his full time carer for atleast the next six months minimum due to a long time of physio rehabilitation (hospital said six months absolute minimum). He cant Butter toast for example.

It’s a complete and sudden life change to say the least and although I was commuting to the hospital every day and somehow managed to apply for PIP on the 3rd June of which followed by a lovely DWP visiting officer come to see me on the 11th June to verify my ID to become my husbands appointee, all I’ve had is a text from the Independent Assessment Services confirming that they are managing my PIP assessment but when I called them the other day, they just said it’s in review .

I also applied to universal credit but now understand that because my husband is getting SSP, that will be deducted from what we are entitled too.

I then googled LCWRA but although got sent the UC50 form when I got us onto UC , I told them that he couldn’t fill that out as he was in coma, I’ve now been told it’s up to the decision maker to decide whether that would be taken into consideration given that the form was not sent back within the timeframe . I can’t get carers Allowance without PIP. I can’t go back to work !!! Am really stressed . Any ideas anyone ? Many thanks in advance

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poppy123456

I'm sorry to hear what's happened. For PIP you must have had the difficulties for at least 3 months and expect them to last at least a further 9 months.

Most people have assessments which are mostly by telephone. As his appointee then you will be able to answer the questions on his behalf. If he does go onto be awarded then rather than it being paid from the date you rang to start the claim it will start from 3 months after he started to have the difficulties.

Yes, for UC the SSP is treated as earnings and will reduce your UC by 55%, unless you have dependant children on your claim and then you'll be entitled to the work allowance.

Are you his appointee for UC as well as PIP? If not then it maybe worth considering this too. To start that process put a message onto his journal and ask to become his appointee. A work coach will then arrange that for you. I know you're his appointee for PIP but it doesn't apply to UC. As his appointee you will be responsible for reporting changes, filling out the forms and answering questions during the assessment.

As the form wasn't returned on time have you sent some evidence to UC that says he was in a coma? If you haven't then please do that. If the UC50 form hasn't been filled in then I'd advise you to do that while you wait for a decision to be made on not returning the form. If he's found to have LCWRA then he'll be entitled to extra money from the 4th month of his claim. You will also be entitled to the work allowance which means a certain amount of earnings received each month will be ignored before the deductions apply.

If he's awarded daily living PIP you will be able to claim carers element of UC for looking after him. You can claim carers allowance but there's no financial gain to claiming that at the same time as UC because it's just deducted in full. There are some advantages to claiming it such as you would receive class 1 NI credits for CA but for UC it's class 3.

I don't know what care is in place for him since he's been home but have you looked at referring him for a needs assessment from his local authority? There maybe some help and support available.

https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/social-care-and-support-guide/help-from-social-services-and-charities/getting-a-needs-assessment/ I hope this helps.

Loumc48

thank you so much for your reply. Really appreciate it !

poppy123456

You’re very welcome. If you need any further advice or there’s something you dont understand please do ask and I’ll do my best to help you further.

Jimm_Alumni

Hi @Loumc48, first of all welcome to the community! That really is a big life change. You certainly seem to be handling it far better than I would at least. PIP will take some time, if you like you can read more about preparing for the assessment here: Preparing for your PIP assessment | Disability charity Scope UK

Have you used a benefits calculator yet to see what else you could be eligible for? Turn2Us have a fairly good one:

Turn2us Benefits Calculator

Let us know how you get on though. We're here to help, whether it's answering disability or benefits questions, or just a place to vent about any issues.

Loumc48

Hi @Jimm_Scope , really appreciate you taking the time to respond to me. Not sure I’m dealing with it all but thanks anyhow ! This site however is a huge support so very grateful to have found it ! It’s all an absolute minefield . From what I gather, once my husband gets awarded PIP, then I can get the carers allowance but I was told by the DWP visiting officer for my area (SW) that it would be 12 weeks but not sure if that is 12 weeks from the first phone call to apply or from the time the IAS sent me the text to confirm they are managing his assessment . First call was on the 3rd June but the text was on the 3rd July .
I don’t understand the LCWRA but that’s another one I think he can get although am aware it’s down to these decision makers . I realise now why it’s so stressful for anyone going through this. You cannot get explanations from those that are working for the DWP let alone answers from questions on topics you have had to google !!!