Declared dead but very much alive: Missouri woman tells of ‘nightmare’ ordeal

The SSA says ‘less than one-third of one-percent’ of the 3 million names listed as dead, are corrected. That’s about 10,000 people incorrectly listed as dead every year. Photograph: Nam Y Huh/AP

Madeline-Michelle Carthen was declared dead in the summer of 2007. The only problem? She was still very much alive.

Carthen, 52, learned she died while studying at university. A business technology student at Webster University, Carthen was accepted into an international internship program. But when she applied for financial aid to assist with expenses, the financial aid office told her that her social security number was associated with a deceased person and that she would have to withdraw immediately.