A Maryland mother, Nicole Paulino, was left with unexpected bills after a rare clerical error declared her dead. Paulino discovered the issue while trying to renew her driver’s license through the Maryland Motor Vehicle Administration.
She was shocked to receive a denial, as government records mistakenly listed her as deceased. “I got a little frightened, I’m not gonna lie,” the mother of three told NBC 4. “I’m surprised because I’m here.”
The Gaithersburg resident was officially labeled a “deceased taxpayer” in a letter from the IRS. The error resulted in the cancellation of health insurance coverage for her and her three children.
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“This really really messes up my life,” Paulino tearfully shared with NBC 4.
The local TV station’s investigation prompted the Social Security Administration (SSA) to admit that a typo caused Paulino to be mistakenly declared dead.
The error occurred when a funeral home employee entered her Social Security number instead of that of a deceased person, leading to significant paperwork to correct her records.
Paulino uncovered the error declaring her dead in November 2024, but the government only corrected it on January 14, 2025.
The delay left her without health insurance, forcing her to cover medical bills, including asthma inhalers, out of pocket for months.
“It has affected me a lot. It’s affected my health, my mental health,” Paulino said. The Social Security Administration defended its records as “highly accurate” in a statement to NBC 4, despite nearly 10,000 false death reports annually.
“Of these millions of death reports we receive each year, less than one-third of 1 percent are subsequently corrected,” SSA claimed.
This means Paulino’s ordeal, while distressing, is not entirely uncommon. In a similar case, Madeline-Michelle Carthen from St. Louis, Missouri, was mistakenly declared dead by the SSA in 2007.
The error, which lasted nearly two decades, disrupted her life, preventing her from completing college, securing employment, and purchasing a home.
Carthen was unable to complete her studies at Webster University after being denied financial aid due to her wrongful death declaration. Attempts to join the workforce were also thwarted, as she was repeatedly let go.
