Social Security Administration Mistakes Woman for Dead

The Social Security Administration accidentally informed a son that his mother had died. When the woman got news of this incident, she went to the SSA office and was told to prove that she was alive by producing a birth certificate. The officials are saying that the matter will be resolved soon but are not speaking about the incident in detail.

Social Security Administration’s Mishap

Deressa Marshall’s son received a call from her life insurance company that informed him that his mother had died. The insurance company wanted to pay out the claims of the mother to her son. The son called his mother immediately and she was shocked to hear the news of her own death. Initially, she thought it was a scam and called her insurance company.

When the insurance company stated that Marshall was reported to be dead by the Social Security office, she decided to visit the office personally to get the issue resolved as soon as possible.

The Response of Social Security Administration

When she reached the social security office at MetroCenter, she learned that she had indeed been marked as dead by the SSA. When Marshall attempted to have the mistake corrected by offering her social security card and state issued I.D., she was told to provide her birth certificate. She was furious by that time and felt that she needed to report the incident to the media.

The Officials Clarify

When the media got hold of the news and asked the SSA officials about the incident, they accepted that such an error may have happened. Patti Patterson, acting as the SSA spokeswoman stated that the mistake of announcing a living person dead can happen from a simple entry error. It can also happen when a wrong name or social security number is reported.

She also added that the social security employees are working to ensure that the issue is resolved. She refused to talk about the Marshall issue directly but admitted that a birth certificate is often not necessary if a person who is alive is reported to be dead. Providing a state issued I.D. would do the job too. If the birth certificate is not mandatory, why was Marshall required to provide one? This question remains unanswered.