Maryland
‘Messes up my life': How a typo led to a Maryland woman being declared dead
A Maryland woman trying to renew her driver’s license was turned away because she’d been declared dead, driving her into the painstaking process of bringing herself back to life.
Nicole Paulino of Gaithersburg was shocked by what popped up in the Maryland Motor Vehicle Administration’s system in November.
“It then appears that I am deceased,” she said. “I got a little frightened, I’m not gonna lie, and surprised, because I am alive. I’m here.”
The MVA told Paulino they couldn’t renew her license, she said.
She also got a letter from the IRS saying “deceased taxpayer.”
Health insurance was canceled for Paulino and her three kids. Medical bills are piling up, and she can’t get the inhaler she needs for her asthma.
“This really, really messes up my life,” Paulino said.
“It has affected me a lot,” she said, tearfully.
News4 reached out to various Maryland government agencies to figure out how this could have happened.
Then Paulino got a call from Social Security, she said. They told her the mistake was due to a typo.
According to the representative, a funeral home tried to report someone else dead but got a digit wrong in the Social Security number, submitting Paulino’s number instead.
“It’s affected my health, my mental health and …” she trailed off, crying.
The Social Security Administration sent News4 a statement saying its records are highly accurate and of the more than 3 million death reports they receive each year, less than one-third of one percent are subsequently corrected.
Meaning about 10,000 reports are wrong each year.
“This happens almost on a daily basis,” attorney Joseph McClelland told the News4 I-Team in 2022.
He’s built a business out of bringing people back from the dead.
“The impact is the worst impact you can have on your credit report,” he said.
A Prince George’s County family felt that impact two years ago when 13-year-old Elise Allen was declared dead.
“It sounds crazy, me on the phone arguing with somebody trying to explain to them that my daughter is not dead,” Melissa Allen told News4 in 2023.
Darby Nye of Arlington, Virginia, was declared dead in 2021, alive in 2022, then dead again in 2023. It impacted his insurance and pension.
Paulino said that after News4 got involved, she finally got a letter from the Social Security Administration Wednesday saying she’s officially been brought back to life.
“I tried doing it myself and I didn’t get anything resolved,” she said. “If it wasn’t for NBC news that offered to help me, I would have never gotten this problem resolved.”
Social Security says anyone mistakenly declared dead should contact them as soon as possible so they can take immediate action. You’ll have to provide at least one form of current identification.
And make sure you get that letter confirming you’re alive in order to fix all the other issues the mistake caused.
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Calling all outdoorsmen and women — Maryland’s Lower Shore is home to some of the best hiking, walking and running trails on the East Coast.
Here’s a closer look at four picturesque parks and preserves with nature trails in the Berlin, Salisbury and Ocean City area.
Assateague Island
Assateague Island offers a wide variety of paved and unpaved trails open for hiking and 37 miles of flat beach terrain for wandering and beachcombing. Assateague Island’s Maryland District features a Life of the Dunes trail, Life of the Forest trail, Life of the Marsh trail.
Furnace Town
Furnace Town is nestled between the Pocomoke State Forest and Nature Conservancy’s Nassawango Creek Preserve. The popular historical site offers three Nature Conservancy Trails, three Maryland Forest service Trails, and a 26-acre outdoor museum and recreation area.
Pemberton Historical Park
Pemberton Historical Park, a 262-acre area featuring a trail system, outdoor amphitheater and more, was created in the 1980s. The park offers 4.5 miles of nature trails for walking and hiking only, allowing visitors to explore wetlands, forests and more of the natural world.
Nassawango Creek Preserve
Nassawango Creek Preserve’s primeval forest has an abundance of bald cypress and black gum trees. Visitors are invited to indulge in its four trails, the Nassawango Joe, Prothonotary Warbler, Ron Wilson Memorial Trail and Leifer Trail, as well as self-guided audio tours.
Olivia Minzola covers communities on the Lower Shore. Contact her with tips and story ideas at ominzola@delmarvanow.com.
The 21-year-old second baseman and 11th overall pick in the 2026 MLB Draft has deep ties to the D.C. region.
(Courtesy Washington Nationals)
Courtesy Washington Nationals
(Courtesy Washington Nationals)
Courtesy Washington Nationals
(Courtesy Washington Nationals)
Courtesy Washington Nationals
(Courtesy Washington Nationals)
Courtesy Washington Nationals
(Courtesy Washington Nationals)
Courtesy Washington Nationals
(Courtesy Washington Nationals)
Courtesy Washington Nationals
Washington Nationals’ first-round draft pick Chris Hacopian inked his first professional contract Wednesday, a moment made sweeter by the fact it was just a 30-minute drive from home to get to Nationals Park and put pen to paper.
The 21-year-old second baseman and 11th overall pick in the 2026 MLB Draft has deep ties to the D.C. region. He’s from Potomac, Maryland, and played his high school ball at Winston Churchill, where he was named the 2022 Maryland Gatorade Player of the Year and a 2022 Washington Post All-Met selection.
According to MLB.com, Hacopian grew up a Nationals fan, admiring the likes of Ian Desmond, Danny Espinosa and others. He also played his first two collegiate seasons at the University of Maryland, where his father Derek played before him, before transferring to Texas A&M for his junior season.
With the Aggies, Hacopian hit .319 with 11 home runs and 41 RBI across 42 games en route to being named First-Team All-Southeastern Conference and a Third-Team All-American by Baseball America, the Nationals said in a news release.
After inking his contract Wednesday, Hacopian donned his new jersey and ball cap and stepped onto D.C.’s beloved diamond as a part of the Nationals organization for the first time.
“That was so cool, oh my gosh. I’ve been in the stands like, 100 times, but being on the field is so different,” he said.
Hacopian was ranked 14th among MLB Draft prospects by MLB.com. The 6-foot-1-inch, 210-pound second baseman boasted one of the best bats in college baseball, according to MLB.com, with excellent control over the strike zone and feel for the barrel, along with solid pop.
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The state said the five recently traveled together to “a location in the U.S. experiencing an active measles outbreak.”
Maryland health officials confirmed five more measles cases, all in Carroll County.
“These individuals recently traveled together to a location in the U.S. experiencing an active measles outbreak,” the state Department of Health said in a release.
The agency said others may have been exposed on the afternoon of July 13 in the emergency department waiting room at Carroll Hospital Center in Westminster.
Another measles case recently prompted warnings from health officials in Maryland, Virginia and the District. On June 17, a Maryland resident traveled through Dulles International Airport and visited a D.C. urgent care clinic.
Measles is highly contagious. It can spread through the air through coughs, breathing, and sneezes. Early symptoms can include fevers of over 101 degrees, coughs, runny noses, watery eyes and face or body rashes.
It can take up to 21 days after exposure for the first symptoms to appear, and those who are not fully vaccinated or otherwise immune to measles are especially vulnerable.
The five new measles cases in Maryland bring the state’s year-to-date total to nine. The state health department confirmed three cases in 2025, and one in each of the previous two years.
“All Marylanders should review potential exposure times, watch for symptoms, and confirm they are up to date on their measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccinations,” the health department said.
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© 2026 WTOP. All Rights Reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.
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