Helen Derici (61), forced to retire as a teacher in her 40’s due to conditions causing chronic pain, has won a 10 year battle against the DWP.
The DWP removed Helen’s Disability Living Allowance (DLA) in 2016 after she appeared in a 2015 Panorama documentary about opioid painkillers - “Hooked on Painkillers”. She was filmed on a beach near her home in Cornwall and after ‘surveillance’, it was alleged this indicated a dramatic improvement in Helen’s functioning.
Helen had been prescribed high doses of painkillers to combat the pain she was in. She underwent a withdrawal programme involving the replacement of the opiates with methadone. This improved her mental state, including her motivation, but her pain levels from her physical disabilities, the basis on which she was paid DLA, remained the same.
Medical evidence before the social security tribunal and DWP included Helen’s Pain Management Consultant stating, “Opioid reduction and exercise are 2 of our central recommendations for patients with chronic pain issues and it is extremely unhelpful to us and the patients if in following these suggestions, patients are penalised…”.
However, the DWP accused her of benefit fraud and demanded repayment of nearly £10,000 and refused to pay her any more DLA. Two appeal tribunals endorsed the DWP’s approach but Helen continued to fight the case, even after her representative died. Independent representative, Nick Dilworth, heroically kept the case alive beyond the spell of his own life.
So in 2023 Helen was able to instruct Kester Disability Rights (KDR) to pick up where Nick was forced to leave off and supported her to appeal for a second time to the Upper Tribunal. With the help of legal representation from Alex Shattock of Landmark Chambers the Upper Tribunal agreed in August 2025 the First-tier Tribunal had decided Helen’s case wrongly, ordering a further re-hearing.
On 3 February 2026 the Truro First-tier tribunal was due to hear Helen’s appeal for the third time, but the DWP conceded in the face of the written case put by Alex Shattock from Landmark Chambers.
Helen said, “The DWP robbed me of my 50’s, making me out to be dishonest and a fraud when in fact I had a painful condition that forced me to retire very early from the profession I loved. I am relieved it’s all over so I can start living again”.
Kester Dean, founder of KDR said, “This was the worse case I’ve seen in 30 years of advice work. There was no basis for the removal of Helen’s DLA, let alone ordering her to repay it. We have written to Helen’s MP asking him to take matters up with the Minister for Disabled People, Stephen Timms, about the misuse of surveillance that is causing so many people to live in fear. What happened to Helen is many disabled social security claimants worse nightmare. A nightmare that would never have ended had Helen not had the courage and determination to keep fighting”.