DLS is regularly called on to participate in policy making consultations by government, the results of which often change the legal framework or the way in which public organisations work with disabled people. Being run by and working for disabled people DLS holds a unique position in being able to effectively identify and represent the views of a wide range of its service users.
In 2015 our client, who had multiple disabilities including PTSD and depression, was awarded £200,000 at tribunal as compensation for a seven year period during which she had not been paid by an employer who was taking advantage of her disabilities.
In 2014, we successfully argued in the European Court of Human Rights that a failure to consider a person’s dignity could amount to a breach of human rights, thereby setting a hugely important precedent.
One of our clients who suffers from MS was housebound and living in a ground floor flat where he was unable to use his wheelchair in the property due to its small size and was forced to sit in the same position 7 days a week. We arranged for him to have access to the community as part of his care package and he is now living in accommodation where he is able to use his wheelchair to move around.
For another of our clients, the local authority had not agreed to provide accommodation or care. The client had been transferred to numerous hospitals over a significant period of time. Within a month of meeting the client, DLS had ensured that the hospital agree to pay for accommodation in a care home while the local authority where she had previously lived and the authority where the hospital was located were left to agree who was responsible for her funding.
Our client was on long term sick leave, but able to return to work if certain adjustments were put in place for her. The workplace was a highly technical one, and the adjustments required many levels of specialist advice, including in respect of the provision of a support worker. As a result of advice and assistance from DLS, the situation moved from a possible dismissal to a successful return to work, with back pay.
I am so grateful for your advice and this wonderful free service, it has been a godsend.
I slept last night for the first time in ages, your advice has given me a way forward.
Thank you from the bottom of my heart for all your help, for dropping everything (it was all such a rush) to help me out and for coaching me through the process. It is more appreciated than perhaps you can know, and it will make a very big difference to my life.
In an incredibly stressful situation, it was reassuring to get a straight answer from you and your clear advice was invaluable.
I cannot recommend Disability Law Service enough. So grateful for their comprehensive advice.