This blog recently discussed the case of the man who was wrongfully identified as deceased and who is now fighting for his disability payments. Fortunately, the man’s benefits were restored the day after a local news station reported about his issues. But the big question here is whether anything can be done to help prevent this type of traumatic event from happening in the future.
The chairwoman of the Illinois Senate Public Health Committee felt that it is shocking that they merely tried to use a mugshot to identify the man who was brought to the hospital. She wants to see that this doesn’t happen in the future. Her answer is to introduce legislation that can help to address these types of cases so that this type of situation doesn’t happen again.
One thing that she noted is that fingerprinting should be done on unconscious victims of crimes so that they are able to be identified. Another option would be to do DNA testing to determine the person’s identity. This would help ensure that people who are gravely injured can have loved ones present when they are in the hospital. It also means that fewer people might have to deal with the hassle of having to try to get their hard-earned benefits restored after they are wrongfully reported as deceased.
When a person initially files for disability payments, they are responsible for going through a long process. This includes the application process, as well as possible appeals. The last thing you want to happen once you are finally approved is to learn that the benefits are stopping for a reason not in your control and that could have been prevented.