Detailed description
Please note: The following information is based on the provisions of the Federal Social Security Act, which has since expired. Similar benefits are now provided under Book XIV of the Social Code (SGB XIV). We will be able to provide you with more detailed information on this shortly. Until then, please contact the office listed at the bottom of this page with any related concerns.
If you are helpless as a result of an injury, you can apply for a monthly care allowance.
Helplessness is assumed, for example, in the case of these health disorders that are recognized as consequences of damage:
- Blindness and severe visual impairment
- Paraplegia and other disabilities that require the permanent and constant use of a wheelchair, even within the living space
- Brain damage, seizure disorders, mental disabilities and psychoses, if these health disorders alone result in a degree of impairment (GdS) of 100
- Loss of two or more limbs, excluding bilateral lower leg or foot amputation
The principles set out in the Medical Care Ordinance (VersMedV) apply to the determination of helplessness and the levels of the care allowance.
You are considered helpless if you need permanent assistance from others for a series of frequently and regularly recurring activities to secure your personal existence.
This also applies if:
- assistance in the form of supervision or guidance is required or
- Although help does not have to be provided on a permanent basis, a constant willingness to provide assistance is required.