Deadly Medical Record Error Disrupts North Texas Woman’s Benefits

Dixie Brothers lives in White Settlement, where she takes pride in her garden, and enjoys spending time with her pets. She is a grandmother, great grandmother and is full of life. So, why would the government ever think she was dead?

“It’s one of the worst things that’s ever happened to me,” Brothers said.

Earlier in 2022, Brothers was a patient at Texas Health Harris Methodist in downtown Fort Worth. She recovered, but a few weeks later, got an unbelievable phone message from the Social Security Administration saying she was dead.

“So I thought this was a scam. And then I got a letter a day or two later saying the same thing. ‘We’re sorry that you’ve lost your loved one. If that’s not correct, please call us,'” Brother said.

She did call and got the shock of her life.

Brothers spoke with an SSA representative and according to her, “He said somebody called and said you were dead. Well, at that point I’m thinking, who would hate me enough to call and proclaim me dead and start this nightmare for me?”

She learned the hospital billing department put her name and medical ID on the record of another person who died at Texas Health Arlington Memorial during the same time she was at Harris Methodist in Fort Worth.

Brothers concluded saying, “And someone in billing put my information on her medical record, sent it to Social Security who paid it, $45,000 in my name.”

The notice of her alleged death was directed to other agencies and she watched her benefits disappear, even her food assistance.

“I’d go to order food and there was no money. They canceled it,” Brothers said.

She says, “It was just an avalanche of things that happened. Canceling medicine, canceling doctor’s appointments, canceling x-rays and so it was very frustrating and upsetting and I didn’t know what was going on.”

After months with no progress, Dixie Brothers asked NBC 5 Responds for help, and we went to work.

First, the medical record was corrected with the hospital.

Texas Health Resources, said in a statement, in part, “A clerical error in filing the claim resulted in Ms. Brothers losing her Medicare coverage…We immediately began the process to reverse the mistake. However, there was difficulty updating all the downstream systems…we are sorry for the hardship this caused her and are thankful we were able to get the issue resolved. We are reviewing processes and additional safeguards to prevent this from happening in the future.”

Ms. Brothers advises anyone else in a similar situation to find an advocate, multiple advocates, to help, saying, “I don’t care what you’re going through, if you’re facing a government agency or a big conglomerate like these hospitals, you have to find someone who will help you.”

Benefits have slowly, but surely, been reinstated and now, she can get back to living.

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