Saywhat? Thank you so much for sharing what B&B told you. I think they were totally honest with you, which I commend them for. My treatment dates back to 1978 and I am 59 years old. Those are advantages for me. The person you talked to was most likely a clerk - not a paralegal. I called numerous law offices. What you went through is Standard Procedure. The clerk brings the info they get to either a lawyer, a paralegal, or an office manager. In the case of B&B, it was probably a paralegal or an office manager. They decided that your case is kind of "iffy," but has some potential. They feel a good bit of doubt, and that's why they want the letter from your doctor. They don't care in the least whether you are trying to scam the government or not. All they care about is - I repeat, All they care about is: ARE THEY GOING TO MAKE ANY MONEY. If you lose, even on appeal, then THEY MAKE NOTHING. Lots of people apply for SSDI who don't have a legitimate claim. Why? BECAUSE THEY HAVE NOTHING TO LOSE - SO WHY NOT? That is part of what clogs up the system. It really doesn't cost a claimant anything to put in a claim for SSDI. (Actually, it costs some time and work and aggravation . . . maybe some fees for medical records . . . not that much of a cost.) The law firm has to pay someone for every minute's worth of attention that gets invested in the claim.

Now I don't want to make you feel bad, but here is something of my experience. I called a bunch of firms. Local ones said call back after I put in a claim and get disapproved. (It's just not lucrative for them to start the initial work.) Every one of the big nationwide firms sounded like they were just dying to represent me. They absolutely loved that I had been on so many different drugs over so long a period of time and had been hospitalized a few times. They wished I had been hospitalized more, but they thought I had a good claim. What they do is kind of like handicapping a race horse. They have it down to a science. Still, like with the ponies, it's a gamble.