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Nicole Paulino, from Gaithersburg, Maryland, had a big surprise when she went to renew her driver’s license. She was told she was dead. Even though she was standing right there, alive and well, they wouldn’t let her renew it.
Imagine that!
“It then appears that I am deceased,” Nicole shared with NBC Washington. She was scared and shocked because, clearly, she’s alive.
In the system of the Maryland Motor Vehicle Administration, she was listed as dead. What a mix-up!
Things got even worse. Nicole received a letter from the IRS saying “deceased taxpayer.” And guess what? Her health insurance for her and her kids got canceled too. All because of this mistake.
“This really, really messes up my life,” Nicole said. She couldn’t get her asthma inhaler or pay medical bills. It affected her health and mental state.
After some digging, it turned out a funeral home reported someone else’s death but messed up the Social Security number. That mistake declared Nicole dead instead.
The Social Security Administration explained they get over three million death reports each year. Less than one-third of one percent are errors. That’s about 10,000 wrong reports every year.
Attorney Joseph McClelland mentioned these mistakes happen almost daily. He recalled a similar incident with a 13-year-old girl who was mistakenly declared dead.
Nicole credits NBC Washington for helping resolve her issue. “I tried doing it myself and I didn’t get anything resolved,” she admitted.
Finally, the Social Security Administration corrected the error.
