Social Security "advocates" failed to file claim, legal options?

A close friend of mine is disabled. Its a long list, but she has multiple medical issues and is absolutely deserving of SSI. 10 months ago my friend went to a "recommended" Social Security advocates/attorney company to get started on filing for disability. They told her to come back with some additional documentation so she did, then she signed everything and was told now she had to wait for SS to do their thing. So she waited, and waited, and waited. After 6 months passed with no news she started calling but could never get a call back. Shortly after she started trying to call her 14 year old son passed away in a tragic accident, so understandably the SS thing went on the back burner. Recently she finally got caught up enough to worry about her SS claim again and again started calling. No one would ever connect her with who she needed, instead only taking messages which were never returned. Finally in frustration she called Social Security to find out the status of her application only to find out that the "advocates" never filed her claim. My friend should have been approved or at least denied so she could appeal by now. She has lost everything and now stands a chance to lose the SSI all together since many of her work credits expired while she was waiting for the advocates to do what they should have been doing. Does anyone know what her options are for legal recourse in a situation like this? She is still dealing with the death of her son and losing their home to foreclosure so they are moving right now. Things are crazy.