Linz (OTS) – A family from the Braunau district received level 2 nursing allowance to care for their mother, who was seriously suffering from dementia. Because the family felt that was far too little, they submitted an application to the Pension Insurance Agency (PVA) to increase the care allowance. The PVA refused. The AK sued against the decision and was right – the PVA has to pay the family a significantly higher care allowance. “Unfortunately, this is not an isolated case. The AK has to repeatedly sue against decisions from the pension insurance company because they do not do justice to the state of health and the care needs of those affected
says AK President Andreas Stangl.
Although the woman, who is over 80 years old, is in good physical health, she suffers from severe dementia, which had rapidly deteriorated in a very short period of time. She is very confused, disoriented, forgetful and sometimes aggressive, with a tendency to self-harm. That’s why she couldn’t be left alone for a second, according to her relatives. They therefore applied for an increase in the current care allowance.
According to the PVA’s justification, there is no need for care that would justify increasing the care allowance. The application was therefore rejected, even though the amount of care required for the sick woman had recently increased significantly. The family didn’t want to put up with that, so they turned to the Braunau AK district office. After the consultation, the responsible AK legal expert came to the conclusion that the previous care level 2 no longer does justice to the state of health and the amount of care required. She therefore filed a lawsuit against the negative decision with the Labor and Social Court.
The report from a forensic expert revealed a need for care of more than 160 hours per month. For dementia there is also a surcharge of at least 25 hours, in this case even 45 hours. This resulted in a maintenance effort of more than 205 hours per month. The court therefore awarded the family care level 6. That’s around 1,200 euros more per month than before the court case. So the use of the AK was worth it.
„I expect proper reports and fact-based decisions from the PVA so that our members can obtain their claims quickly and fairly
“, demands Andreas Stangl. “Because it cannot be the case that people who are seriously ill, need care or can no longer work also have to take legal action
“, said the AK President.
Questions & Contact:
Chamber of Labor Upper Austria – Communication
Mag. Dominik Bittendorfer
+43 (0)664-82 37 978
dominik.bittendorfer@akooe.at
ooe.arbeiterkammer.at