I have a client who was awarded in excess of £ 400,000.00 for a personal injury. This was awarded in Dec 03 and Jan 04. She did not notify the DWP or the Local Authority of this payment due to advice she was given. However, the solicitor did notify the DWP compensation recovery unit. This was awarded by the courts but no trust was set up and she had free access to the money.

She no longer has any of this capital and the HB and Income Support Sections have decided that she has deliberately deprived herself of the capital in order to gain benefits. They have not yet made a decision regarding the overpayment period.

I understand there have been recent changes which mean that personal injury claims will be disregarded for 52 weeks from the date of the award. As more than 52 weeks have passed this will not be relevant.

Do you have any ideas on the way in which I can tackle this case?

What was the money spent on?

This is no help to resolve the issue I know but has client considered professional negligence by solicitor? They'll have made a nice big buttie out of that one and if they didn't advise about effect on her benefits and setting up a PI trusts then they want b******ing to say the least. They have no choice but to notify the CRU so it's not as though they've done her a favour in that sense.

A couple of thoughts:

1. I think she has a fairly strong claim in negligence against the solicitor. The solicitor was fully aware of her benefits position, having recieved full information from the CRU, and probably the client. It seems to me that she is entitled to assume that she is being given full and correct advice relating to her situation when the solicitor is acting for her and successfully obtaining compensation.

2. If a deprivation decision is made, the arguments I would use are that she could have put the whole sum into trust, thereby protecting her benefits, without falling foul of the deprivation rules. In spending the money without it being in trust why should her intention by any more blameworthy than if she had spent it all from a trust? If she had wanted to maximise her benefits for a long time she could have put the funds into trust all at once. The effect of her spending it in the present situation is no different.

Simon Ennals

Without wishing to appear to be unchristian etc, how does one dispose of £400.000 in something like two years (or have I misread something) even my wife would find that a tad daunting .....

but I really think one needs to know this as a starting point - if she has really disposed of that capital, then I would say you may have little to work with ...