A double amputee who lost both of his legs after being impaled on a fence has still not been declared unfit for work almost a year after the trauma. Victim Dale Whitehurst said the incident had left him trapped in a never-ending “bad dream” and haunted by phantom pains.
The 44-year-old, from Wolstanton, Stoke-on-Trent, miraculously survived for five days hanging upside down when his ankles were speared on metal security railings. He was badly wounded while walking home last June when he attempted to take a short cut over a seven-foot metal palisade security fence, becoming impaled upside down after falling, reports the Mirror.
Since then, he has endured a torrid time as he tries to come to terms with his injuries, and said his local council and the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) have only added to his woes. He stressed he qualifies Limited Capability for Work and Work-related activity (LCWRA), he said the DWP continues to drag its heels and blame the hold-up on a Covid backlog.
He is still awaiting a decision nearly a year after the accident, and every couple of months, has to get a fresh note from his doctors to prove his circumstances have not changed. Being put on LCWRA would mean extra financial support with no expectation to return to employment.
Meanwhile, Stoke-on-Trent City Council has allegedly told him he owes nearly £400 for an emergency care package put in place after he came out of hospital. Dale claimed he was assured did not need paying back at the time it was issued.
Following his accident, Dale and his long-term partner, who is also in a wheelchair - and who he was the full-time carer for before his accident - split up after 16 years. They had been on a joint Universal Credit account but it was paid into her account.
Dale was eventually awarded PIP - a benefit for the extra costs of living with a long-term health condition or disability. In total, his benefits - and entire income - come to £1,175 a month, the DWP has confirmed.
On coming out of hospital, Dale said no care package had been set up and he did not receive his prescription painkillers for almost 10 days, during which time he was in agony. Eventually, several weeks in, the council agreed to set up an emergency package, but as soon as he was awarded PIP it demanded he pay the funds for the package back, he claims.
He described feeling like a “prisoner in my own home, trapped in these four walls” as he deals with the trauma of losing his legs. One of his wounds took months to heal due to infection before he could begin learning to use prosthetics.
Dale said his life was a 'daily battle,' with vivid memories of the horrific accident and its aftermath. He said: "My brain remembers that I once had limbs and [my brain] goes through the trauma sensations all day every day and it feels like my missing limbs and feet are being crushed."
When he was eventually found and rushed to hospital, the initial amputation had to be done so quickly he was given a spinal epidural anaesthetic, meaning he was awake for the surgery.
A spokesperson for the DWP said LCWRA assessments are handled by an external company and it is unclear how long it will be before Dale's is completed. The spokesperson clarified he is "technically exempt at present" from having to search for or be available for work.
The spokesperson added: "The assessment then decides what category you’re in and some are in what we call limited capability for work and work related activity – this means you cannot work now and you’re not expected to prepare for work in the future."
Stoke-on-Trent City Council has been contacted for comment.
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