Lorraine's story
Challenging Special Rules on Terminal Illness
A mother of three young children, Lorraine Cox, was diagnosed with Motor Neurone Disease in September 2018. While Lorraine’s diagnosis was terminal, her doctors were unable to say how long she would live.
When Lorraine applied for benefits, she encountered a system designed to give extra help only to people with six months or less to live.
At this challenging time in her life, Lorraine bravely spoke out about the obstacles she faced and campaigned for a change to rules on access to benefits for terminally ill people.
Law Centre NI helped Lorraine to challenge those rules. Her legal challenge was a vital contributor to changing the law and extending the scope of terminal illness rules to include people with six to 12 months to live. A change which made a crucial difference to terminally ill people across the whole of the United Kingdom.
Lorraine sadly passed away in July 2022.
We are really grateful for her courage and lasting legacy.