DLA Tribunal – waiting for a Legal Officer. Has anyone experienced this?

skyann

Hi everyone,

I'm hoping someone might be able to give me some advice or share their experience.

I'm appealing a DLA decision for my son, who has recurrent acute pancreatitis every 2 weeks due to genetics cf carrier and has had multiple hospital admissions.

On 1 October, HMCTS emailed me to say the DWP had been directed to provide its response by 18 September but had failed to do so.

I was told the case would be sent to a Legal Officer to decide whether to give the DWP more time or make the appeal ready to list for a hearing.

It's now 4 November and I've had absolutely no further updates. The online appeal status hasn't changed at all.

I've submitted additional medical evidence, including a Royal Brompton letter and photographs of his Oramorph prescription and medication bottle, as well as statements explaining his recurrent attacks and night-time pain.

Has anyone else experienced this?

- How long did you wait for a Legal Officer to look at your case?
- Did you receive any updates while waiting?
- Did the Legal Officer give the DWP more time?
- Is there anything I can do to get an update?

I'm in Wales, if that makes any difference.

Thank you so much. I'm just getting a little frustrated with how long everything is taking!

Darking

@skyann I’m so sorry you and your son are going through this. Managing recurrent acute pancreatitis and frequent hospital admissions is incredibly exhausting on its own, without having to fight a delayed administrative battle for the support he deserves. The medical evidence you have submitted, especially the Royal Brompton letter and the proof of Oramorph for night-time pain, is exactly the kind of highly specific, compelling evidence tribunals look for when assessing care needs.

Regarding how long you wait for a Legal Officer, it is extremely common right now to wait four to eight weeks, and sometimes longer, just for a Legal Officer or Judge to look at the file. The tribunal service is dealing with massive backlogs across the board. Because it has been about five weeks since October 1, your timeline is unfortunately very typical for the current system.

You usually do not receive updates while waiting. The HMCTS online portal and automated email system effectively go dark during these administrative bottlenecks. You almost certainly will not hear anything until the Legal Officer actually makes a formal decision and issues a document called a Direction Notice.

When the Legal Officer does review the case, they will most likely give the DWP more time. The Legal Officer will typically issue a Direction giving the DWP a strict final deadline, often 14 to 28 days, to produce the appeal bundle. If the DWP misses that extended deadline, the tribunal will then usually direct that the appeal be listed for a hearing without the DWP's response, or they will issue an Unless Order warning the DWP they will be barred from participating if they do not respond immediately. To get an update, you can call the HMCTS Social Security and Child Support helpline directly at 0300 123 1142 from Monday to Friday, 8am to 5pm. Have your appeal reference number ready. The clerks on the phone can look at the internal system, confirm that your additional evidence has been linked to the file, and tell you if the case is currently sitting in a Legal Officer's queue.

If this delay is causing severe financial hardship or the stress is actively detrimental to your son's health and your ability to care for him, you can write to the tribunal asking for the appeal to be expedited. You would need to explain the specific hardship clearly. Regarding being in Wales, the tribunal process and the law are exactly the same in Wales as in England, though your hearing will be managed by a regional office, often Cardiff. The only difference is that you have the right to request the hearing be conducted in Welsh if you prefer. Otherwise, the backlog delays are a system-wide issue.

Hang in there. You have built a very strong case with excellent, specialised medical evidence. The wait is agonizing but giving the helpline a call is your best next step to get some clarity and peace of mind.