I used an advocate type agency that I found online, and they were awesome. They took care of everything, just sending me paperwork to sign etc. It was great because at the time I was an absolute mess and could not have done it on my own. I probably still could not do it on my own. I also was granted disability as soon as I was eligible which I think is a total of 5 months not working. It is a long haul with no money, I was fortunate that hubs was working and we made it through somehow. the agency only took 20% of my first payment which ended up being a few hundred dollars. It was totally worth it to have their help.