Has anyone had dla tribunal appeal REFUSED and appealed to the judge?

[dlaappealtojudge]

I'm in this predicament

I tried to appeal under smi rules for autism, for mobility rate, but I dont think that i was eloquent and as a result they denied it when the evidence is there

I feel so stupid and I have failed my child, but now need to write to the judge to ask them to look again

Has anyone done this?

Any help appreciated, please be kind

The only way to appeal a tribunal decision is to appeal to the upper tier tribunal, and that can only be done if the lower tier tribunal made an error of law.

It’s not as simple as writing to the judge for a second opinion and it’s going to take some knowledge of the law, or serious research.

You would need to ask for a statement of reasons from the tribunal within one month of your tribunal decision, then identify an error of law within that. You would then need to ask for permission to appeal to the upper tier tribunal, and if that’s granted, make your case.

You may be better off starting again with a change of circumstances to DWP and going through the process again. This would mean that any award would be from the date of your new claim, not the original.

I've really let dc down

My written info was perfect, I just got nervous 😓

I'll let others more knowledgeable advise on the ins and outs, but I just wanted to highlight the help and support I received from the Citizen's Advice Bureau for mine. They allocated me a lovely lady, who changed the date of the appeal, as she said we needed more time, and also she came with me to the meeting. She was able to ensure I said everything I needed to, and my appeal was successful. I would urge you to consider going this route, if you can, as having someone more experienced, less nervous, and a little detached, helped, when I sobbed through one part of it, for example.

Best of luck. You haven't let your little one down; you're doing all of the things they need, in supporting them - sometimes you need the support too.

You haven’t let DC down, it’s a rubbish and demeaning system. The tribunal panel had your written info too, it might be useful to know the reason for the decision to inform your next application?

And remember that you went to tribunal, which many people don’t find the strength and resources to do in the midst of meeting the dc’s needs.

You haven't failed your DC. If everyone thinking they are entitled were right, there would be no assessment process, let alone a legal one.

The whole point of court is that a extremely trained professional has the final say. The judge didn't agree with you and are much more likely to have been correct in their assessment.

You didn’t let them down, you took it as far as you could to see if they needed that rate. The court has confirmed they don’t but you know you tried as hard as you could. They had all that information you wrote down too I would have thought, so unless something has changed or you can ask their reasons and know they’re incorrect, I wouldn’t try again.

No only if there was a error in law. If you took it that far unfortunately it’s likely they are not entitled not everyone is.

What are your dcs needs that the judge didn't have the evidence for?

Have you considered that your child is not eligible though?

The written account, which you said had everything in it, would have been read. Your nerves wouldn’t have affected the outcome. It does seem that the judge made the right decision. What did you not say or put into the written account that would have resulted in a different outcome?

Try contacting Fightback. They are a welfare rights charity.

If your written info was perfect, they would have awarded it. They wouldn't let nerves be a deciding factor.

SMI criteria is very strict. The criteria are and criteria, not or criteria, so the number of people who qualify reduces as you work your way through them.

• be entitled to the highest rate of the DLA care component,
• be severely mentally impaired, which means that they:

a) have incomplete or arrested development of the brain and b) have severe impairment of intelligence and c) have severe impairment of social functioning and

• have severe behavioural problems meaning:

• is extreme and

1. regularly requires another person to intervene and physically restrain them to prevent them injuring themselves or others or damaging property and is so unpredictable that they require another person to be present watching over them whenever they are awake

It is essential that all three conditions are satisfed. The disruptive behaviour does not need to be
displayed at all times but it must be extreme. The word “extreme” is an ordinary English word which here
refers to behaviour which is wholly out of the ordinary.

(Formatting is probably a bit off).

It's a really high bar.

It might be worth noting that 'virtually unable to walk' is far easier to evidence than SMI.

Fightback are a CIC, not a charity, and charge quite a bit for services. PIPPS are another such organisation and there are others.

@Lougle is spot on and knows what they’re talking about

The evidence to support your claim is likely to have been the factor rather than the fact that you were nervous and might have struggled to articulate.

It is a long time since I applied (son is older). However it isn't your nerves - I suspect it is lack of evidence. I found that for every key point you make, that closely matches the criteria you need evidence - from a report, a professional, an assessment.

Don't feel stupid or that youre a bad mum either! I had a friend this happened to and she had to go to a charity organisation to help her win her case. If you want I can ask her for her contact as she ended up winning with their help :) x

Please 🥺🥺❤️