Double amputee impaled on fence for five days - but DWP say he's still fit for work

dailyrecord.co.uk:

A man who has been left traumatised after losing both of his legs when he was impaled on a fence is yet to be officially declared unfit for work almost a year later.

Dale Whitehurst has faced an excruciating recovery, which sees him in constant agony, haunted by phantom pains and has left him trapped in a never-ending “bad dream”.

The double amputee claims the "limited" amount of benefits he receives means he is struggling to make ends meet. The 44-year-old, miraculously survived for five days hanging upside down in scorching heat last summer when his ankles were speared on metal security railings, reported Mirror Online.

Dale, from Wolstanton, Stoke-on-Trent, has since endured a torrid time as he tries to come to terms with everything, and said the local council and the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) have only added to his woes.Despite believing he fits the bill for 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.And with a decision still pending, nearly a year after the accident, every couple of months Dale has to get a fresh ‘fit note’ from his doctors to prove his situation hasn’t 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.Something he said he was assured did not need paying back at the time it was issued.And which he said has been of little use to him, as the carers who come round are not allowed to physically help him, only make cups of tea.“I have got more money going out than I’ve got