A Maryland woman's life was thrown into chaos after a simple typo led the government to mistakenly declare her dead, impacting her health insurance, finances and mental health.
In November, Nicole Paulino of Gaithersburg, Maryland, discovered her status as "deceased" while trying to renew her driver's license at the Maryland Motor Vehicle Administration, News4 reported.
"It then appears that I am deceased," Paulino told the outlet. "I got a little frightened, I'm not gonna lie, and surprised, because I am alive. I'm here."
The error stemmed from a funeral home mistakenly submitting her Social Security number while reporting another person's death, an issue affecting thousands annually due to clerical mistakes.
As a result, Paulino was not only blocked from renewing her license, but also led to canceled health insurance for her and her three children, mounting medical bills and restricted access to her asthma medication.
"This really, really messes up my life," Paulino told News4. "It has affected me a lot ... It's affected my health, my mental health."
After repeated attempts to resolve the issue on her own, Paulino finally received confirmation from the Social Security Administration that her status had been corrected, thanks in part to media intervention.
While Paulino's status has been restored, she now faces the arduous process of untangling the bureaucratic fallout, including addressing her credit, tax records and medical debt.
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