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Hi, my name is Tariq! I need legal advice relating to the NHS and DLA

Tariq

I need legal advice relating to the NHS and DLA

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Ross_Alumni

Hi @Tariq

Welcome to the community.

What is the problem you are facing? We can't provide legal advice as such on the community, but we do have a lot of members with vast knowledge of the benefits system who might be able to offer their insight.

For professional advice, you could contact CAB, your nearest Welfare Rights or enter your postcode into Advice Local.

Tariq

Hi Ross,

Thank you for your quick response. Both my daughters are severely sight impaired and have albinism and albinism related disabilities. I have been fighting to get them the higher rate dla since 2015 and I finally got it in December 2020 and February 2021. I want to take this further as either the NHS or dla are accountable for me not getting the correct benefits. This has cost me a great deal and I feel as their vision is so limited they should have got it in 2015 on my original application.

janer1967

Hi there

Sorry for the difficulties you have had

Did you appeal the original decision and take it to tribunal ?

I don't understand why the NHS are accountable for benefits

If you can give us more details as to what you have done so far we maybe able to help

Alternatively get advice from welfare rights

poppy123456

Hi,

I'm confused why the NHS are responsible for you not successfully claiming DLA for your children? NHS have nothing at all to do with any benefit claims and you don't need a diagnosis to successfully claim a disability benefit.

When you originally applied in 2015 if you weren't successful then you should have requested the Mandatory Reconsideration, followed by Tribunal. None of that has anything to do with NHS. When you received the decision for those claims originally in 2015 at the bottome of the letter it would have had details of what you do if you disagreed with the decision. Too late for any of that now because you're well outside the maximum time limit of 13 months.

wilko

Asking or expecting the NHS to give a refund for a benefit you think or thought your daughters where entitled to has nothing to do with the NHS.When your daughters didn’t meet the criteria in 2015 having been diagnosed if correct then it was your duty snd responsibility to request a mandatory reconsideration of your daughters DLA claim sending more information and supporting evidence. Waiting for 5 years is and maybe to late to appeal. Your best bet is to seek legal advice from a person or persons who know and understand the benefits system .

poppy123456

wilko said:

Waiting for 5 years is and maybe to late to appeal. Your best bet is to seek legal advice from a person or persons who know and understand the benefits system .

As advised previously, the maximum time a person can appeal a decision is 13 months. Legal advice isn't needed here.

Tariq

Hi guys, thank you for the feedback. I have not clarified the whole situation here. My daughters have albinism. I recently had a discussion with the ophthalmologist who said that in regards to both my daughters, as the day wears on, because of their nystagmus and albinism related disabilities, there vision deteriates massively. As an example, one of my daughters has a vision at best which is 6/60. This score itself should entitle higher rate dla but I was only getting the lower rate, and then the middle rate right until December 2020. I initially thought it was the dla who should have given the right benefit but there decision is based on what the scores the eye department has given. If a more clear instruction was given to the dla, I feel I would have been given the higher rate back in 2015. I feel that the hospital did not give the correct evidence until recently.

Please give me your thoughts and many thanks in advance...

poppy123456

My advice remains the same, even after reading your last comment. DLA is not awarded based on any diagnosis and never has been, it's how those conditions affect you. It has nothing at all do to with the NHS. When applying for a benefit such as DLA then it's your responsibility to send in evidence to prove you qualify, not the NHS or anyone else.

If you weren't happy with the decision back in 2015 then you could have challenged it.. 6 years later is well outside the maximum time limit of 13 months.

Tariq

Hi mikehughescq,

I cannot thank you enough for your detailed reply...

I have 2 daughters aged 10 and 7, when I made my application in 2015 my older daughter was 4 years old. I also have a newborn who is 3 weeks old but has the same conditions as my daughters but we dont know the extent of his vision as he is too young.

Please see my responses to your points...

1, 2 & 3. This is a 100% accurate answer to what had happened. I did go down the mandatory route all the way to a tribunal but the decision is always based on the evidence. I did not even know about the benefits available up to 2015 and I was advised to take it further by the high street opticians as they deemed the lower rate was not right for my older daughter. I had asked the eye department team (who are absolutely fantastic and always help me when required) to provide further support for my dla case. Once they had given me a supporting letter, I had then been issued in 2016 the middle rate for the care component and lower rate for mobility. You are correct that there is no way that the decision could be overturned even at a tribunal because I had no other evidence.

4. Both my girls have albinism, manifest nystagmus, exotropia, astigmatism and myopia. Both are registered severely sight impaired.

I am looking at there most recent eye scores, my older daughter has a vision logmar score of 1.28 in right eye and 1.6 in left eye, with both eyes open being 1.1 logmar. There is also some additional info which I don't understand:
N30 at 20cm threshold
N16 at 10cm threshold
N10 at 6-8cm threshold
Her size print is 30 bold.

I can only find limited info on my younger daughter, she has a logmar score on right eye of 1.36 and left eye at 1.30 with both eyes open at 1.30.

When I originally applied, on both CVI forms the loss of peripheral vision was not completed, I asked the hospital to complete their CVI forms again and now they have been confirmed as complete loss of peripheral vision.

What is ECLO?

Also, I was given the higher rate for my younger daughter after the RNIB intervined when they would not change their decision. For my older daughter who's vision is worse, I have the higher rate but not for her vision but for her UTI's that she had been consistently having over the last 2 years. I wanted your opinion on this also as this is for a limited time and I will have to go through the same process again when the 3 years are over.

Thank you in advance and I look forward to your reply.

Tariq

Thank you for your advice. I was hesitant to take the NHS to a tribunal as the eye department has been good to me. The only thing that has been done wrong from there part is that the original CVI forms were not completed fully and crucial boxes like loss of peripheral vision were not ticked which I feel would have helped in the application.
My older daughter has been given a 3 year higher rate, but she still has the ongoing UTI issues. Most importantly, I hope her UTI'S stop and then I can go down the same route and involve rnib to assist me as it worked for my younger daughter.

I want to thank you for all your advice. I will not be taking the NHS to a tribunal, I was reluctant anyway but was advised by a few people.