SPOKANE, Wash. — A Spokane woman says a clerical error wrongly declared her dead and weeks later, she’s still trying to undo the damage.
Leslie Stannard discovered the issue after her debit card was declined at a grocery store. When she called her bank, she was told they had been notified she was deceased.
The error happened the same day her father died on January 23. Leslie says she did not learn she had also been marked deceased until two weeks later.
Then, Leslie went to the Social Security office, where she waited for hours and provided identification in an effort to correct the mistake.
She says the error has had serious consequences. According to Leslie, she lost her insurance coverage and has been unable to access medications she needs.
“I keep getting more and more things that say I’m deceased,” she said. “Well, I’m very much here. I’m very much alive.”
Leslie says she was told the issue would be resolved within a week. Weeks later, she is still waiting for confirmation that her records have been corrected.
In the meantime, she continues working to restore her identity, all while living and breathing, but officially listed as dead.
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