Subject: DLA tip 3
Hi All Here is a tip if you have to go to a tribunal. Monica The thought of having to go to an oral appeal hearing and face a grilling from three strangers can be pretty scary. But if you use our DLA appeals guides youll have a very clear idea of whats going to happen and be extremely well prepared for it. Below are three useful tips to get you started. Travel The panel will almost certainly ask you how you got to the hearing. For this reason, think carefully about how you do this. If you regularly use buses and have no difficulties doing so, thats fine. But there is often an assumption by tribunals that people who use public transport have less serious health problems. They assume that you are regularly able to get to a bus stop and stand for long periods, as well as coping with strangers, crowding, jolting and frequent stops and starts. If you do have to use public transport, as you have no other way of getting there, you may need to take the initiative and explain to the tribunal in great detail any problems that the journey caused you, and may cause for the rest of the day, and what arrangements you have made for getting home. On the other hand, if you come by car, you may be asked whether you drove yourself, where you parked and how long it took you to walk from the car park. Again, you may have no choice but to do this, so you will need to explain any difficulties you had. Obviously, if you do have the kind of problems described above, its far better to get a lift or a taxi that can drop you at the tribunal door to avoid unnecessary difficulty or pain. Dress appropriately Tribunals are very formal and most people want to look smart for them. However, if in your claim pack you have said that you have to wear slip on shoes, elasticated waists or other clothing because of your condition, then you should either: wear that clothing, because the tribunal will definitely notice if you dont and may draw conclusions from their observations; or wear smart clothes but actually point out to the panel that this is not what you normally wear and explain any extra help you needed with dressing or how long it took and how much it hurt. Watch the Chairpersons pen Any lawyer will tell you that the best policy when answering questions in judicial proceedings, which is what tribunals are, is to do so accurately, concisely and without straying from the point. So, were not suggesting you should attempt to lie or hide the truth at your hearing. But the best policy is definitely to answer each question as best you can and then . . . keep quiet. Claimants often get themselves into difficulties by talking too much. They will accurately explain the problems they have with, for example, standing for more than a few minutes. But then, because there is a long silence after theyve given their answer they will add something like: I did have to stand for 10 minutes at the shop to get the electricity meter key charged the other week. My husband normally does that, but he was ill that day and we would have had no heating that night if I hadnt gone. The decision about your DLA is based on how you are the majority of the time what you can manage on the occasional better day, or what you had to do in spite of the pain that it caused, because you had no choice, isnt relevant. If the tribunal specifically asks you whats the longest youve been able to stand recently, or something like that, then of course you need to answer accurately. But bringing up things that you havent been asked prolongs the hearing, can make tribunal chairs tetchy because they start running late and, unless the tribunal takes the time to gather more evidence, can leave a misleading impression about your condition. Its undoubtedly true true that if there are long pauses and panel members are staring at you its hard not to blurt something out, just to fill the silence. But what you should do is watch the Chairpersons pen. Is it moving? If yes, then the Chair is still writing notes. The two other panel members are watching
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