I have a client who has been in receipt of SDA since 1990. Her entitlement has been withdrawn following a medical examination finding her 55% disabled. I have no experience of appealing SDA decisions and would be grateful for any pointers, in particular, how percentage assessments are arrived at.

Any information would be gratefully received.

JS.

This might help...

http://www.dwp.gov.uk/publications/dss/2001/medical/maf2001.pdf

It's also worth going back to the disability rights handbook for the time she was first awarded to make sure of your facts.

Just a reminder- now that SDA entitlement has stopped, PCA will be applied to the (now)'credits only' claim.

just to add, you might want to check whether reg. 6 of SDA regs helps her. in other words, was she entitled to preserved SDA, and didn't need to be referred in the first place?

Claimant's who've been in reciept of SDA since 12/4/95 are exempt from the PCA, but not from medical assessments. Most assessments are for fixed periods and when the assessment period ends, the claimant is examined and a new assessment made. Not having made the 80% threshold does not however make the claimant automatically capable of work although, as mentioned by a previous contributor, the PCA, in respect of NI credits and income support, is then applicable.

In terms of the medical assessment, it is very similar to the medical assessment for industrial injuries benefits and so that is a good place to start - the principles of 'loss of faculty' and 'disablement' are particularly helpful.

It can be useful to look at the list of 'prescribed degrees of disablement' in appendix 7 of the CPAG handbook. Even if they don't directly apply to your client's disablement they can be a very useful guide. For example, in the list, disablement number 7 (loss of hand or all digits of one hand) is prescribed as 60%. Someone with severe arthritis, FMS, CFS or ME for example, who has severely reduced functioning of a hand such that it is virtually useless, might be said to have a similar degree of disablement. An 100% assessment does not mean 'total disability'. It's perfectly possible, notwithstanding that the maximum disablement in law is 100%, that when added up together any particular person's disablement could be more than several hundred percent.

Some already suggested looking back at the old reference books (pre 2001) and I mirror that.

Medical evidence is especially important in medical assessment cases, and other benefit medical reports are sometimes helpful (DLA EMP report for example). Claimants usually have a medical examination at medical or disablement related appeals, so you'll need bear this in mind.

I might be wrong, But?

I seem to remember arguing at appeal about three years ago that high mobility (And I think middle care for a time) of DLA were both automatic passports in years gone by to be classed as 80% disabled and therefore entitled to SDA?

If they had one of these then and still have it now I argued that they were exempt from any % disablment test in the future, and it was won.

But the chances of me finding it now are remote so any pointers would help?

Prior to 01/04/97 those getting mid care or high mob DLA were indeed treated as 80& disabled, and this exemption (as far as I know) still extends to those with transitional protection.

From 01/04/97, only mid care DLA passported to 80% disablement.

There are other ways to be treated as 80% disabled such as: The claimant has a current 80%+ assessment for war pension or IDB, has an invalid carriage or is registered blind. There were others prior to abolition of SDA (see the 2000 Welfare Benefits Handbook), but I don't these would be covered by transitional rules (except perhaps that the claimant had, or is receiving, vaccine damage payments).

These rules were in reg 10 of the SDA regs.