DLA review

Hi All ,

I will try and make it as short as I can , 8 months ago I started coughing up blood was referred to specialist and after all the tests was told that my right lung had cavities that developed aspegilloma (fungal balls) in all three lobes which means the whole lung must be removed for any chance of a cure , after much consyltation with my family I decided to see a thoracic surgeon who said the operation was too risky in my condition and he wouldn't recommend it and the respiratory specialist agrees with him . I work full time and since the symptoms developed I was hospitalised Twice with massive Haemotopsis and had been on 14 tablets a day + had an embolization . My consultant adviced me to apply for DLA and so I did on the grounds that it restricts my mobility ( always breathless, little efforts mean coughing up huge amount of bllod for days ) .I sent the forms , the requested my GP's opinion who I rarely see and he said she's fine!
I was turned down for DLA , did ask for a review and they requested my consultant's opinion who was furious with them and said that walkin 100 yards coul trigger massive bleeding and that my condition is threatening my life at the moment . I also sent a copy of the Thoracic surgeon's letter which speaks in detail about my problem .
My question is do I stand a chance at all ?

Hi

There's always a chance ! Around 55% of DLA appeals succeed.

DLA Tribunal Members are appointed by the Ministry of Justice, since an appeal tribunal is a 'court of law' albeit an informal one, they are totally independent of the DWP.

A DLA panel consists of a Tribunal Judge, who must be a qualified solicitor, a Doctor of Medicine, usually a GP, but could be a Consultant in the condition (s) you suffer from, and finally a Disability Specialist who has good knowledge of the mobility and/or care needs of claimants with chronic illness/ disability, and may be also disabled themselves, although there is no guarantee that that the Disability Specialist will be disabled themselves.

Good luck.

Jim

back again , firstly , thank you Gordon & Jim for your quick response .
secondly, I do appologise for the terrible spelling the forum was closing and I tried to post the threat before it did.
Just to clarify few points , the way things stand there is no obvious solution for my condition , surgery not possible , tablets not working well , coughing up blood daily , always breathless always tired , some days I work from home ( my employers have been nothing but supportive). I thought about quitting work but can't afford it at the moment and my consultatnt who I see every 3-4 weeks for the past 8 months prefers that I don't work as it increases the risk of severe bleeding which could be fatal at the stage that I'm in.
I applied for DLA on sep 2011 and after 8 weeks recieved a letter to say I'm not entitled . I asked for a reconcideration and sent further evidence and supporting letters from my Consultant & the Surgeon and they both say that my condition is far from simple , it's too complicated they don't even know how to deal with it and on the report she wrote that she is 100% certain that my condition will deteriorate in the future . My question was , and I apologise for not making it clear in the previous post , what are the rules for long term illnesses ? has anyone been successful claiming mobility on the grounds that walking could cause them grave danger ?
I'm only claiming mobility as I don't need care at the moment .The whole process is so stressful and I'm not even sure if people with similar health problems have ever been successful

What I meant was people with illnesses that are not an obvious disability say for example Diabetes , COPD etc .I always assumed that the criteria was that the claimant should be physically disabled and I'm not . I have a long term condition which prevents me from living a normal life and might eventually kill me if not treated
but there is no timescale on that one yet could be years before I have the surgery .
I will have a look at the links you posted , I'm new to the whole thing but really appreciate your help