Hi Billy,

I was successfully awarded SSD on my own, with no help from lawyer, on the first try. I didn't even have to go to court and it only took a few months to get approved. I was shocked!

In my case, however, I think it helped that I had just won my claim for LTD from my employer. For that I DID actually hire a lawyer because I was appealing an initial denial and it seemed like having attorney to provide extra "teeth" to my claim was the smart thing to do. Even with the attorney, though, I still did almost all the the work. I had all of my medical records, including detailed letters from my surgeon (Dr. Sanders) and Dr. Allen Togut. I supplied as much applicable medical research on TOS as I could find. I wrote a very long and detailed narrative of what the pain was like and how difficult is was to do so many things, let alone work. When I won the LTD appeal, the LTD insurance company required me to also file for SSD. I did it mostly because it was required - I really had no expectation of winning.

I intended to hire a lowyer for SSD as well, but my previous attorney didn't deal with SSD and several of the SSD lawyers I called informed me that they only take appeals - they don't help with the initial filing. So, I filed on my own. When I did file for SSD, I included ALL of the documentation I had submitted for my LTD claim, as well as the LTD Award Letter. When filling out the SSD application forms, once again I responded in tremendous detail - like a whole page per question in some cases - describing how difficult it was to shower, dry my hair, wear a bra, wash dishes, drive to the store, etc. Also, since I have trouble writing or typing (as do most of us), I had a friend type up the answers for me and included a notarized note (signed by me and my friend) explaining that it had been typed by my friend on my behalf, due to my disability. I don't think I was exaggerating - I just told it like it is. Anyway, I think those things helped but having as much medical documentation as you can is absolutely crucial.

Good Luck! I hope all works out in your favor. Keep us posted (no pun intended )