FAYETTEVILLE, N.C (March 15, 2018) — A veteran mistakenly
declared dead by the Department of Veterans Affairs is really alive. Charlie Covell is a Vietnam veteran and bronze star
recipient. He received his award nearly 40 years after aiding his comrades
during an ambush attack in Vietnam.
Covell also struggles with COPD, wearing oxygen to cope. At the age of 81, Covell has survived infantry battle in
Vietnam, three hospital visits and most recently, a phony flat line. Late last month, Covell's wife noticed his benefit check
wasn't deposited. From there, she called the VA.
"That's when they told me that he was deceased and that
he had died on the 23rd of January," said Covell.
Charles R. Covell died in January in Utica, New York. The
Social Security office sent the VA the death certificate for a man who shared
the same first and last name. "Social security number was different of course,"
said Charlie Covell.
For weeks, the Covells searched for answers only to run into
dead ends. Congressman Richard Hudson's office found out about the mixup on
Monday and within 24 hours had Covell reinstated.
"Congressman Hudson is able to assist constituents with
problems they may be having with a federal agency like the VA. While he and his
caseworkers can't force an agency to act in a constituent's favor, they can
help facilitate the process, get a fair hearing, and advocate for a positive
outcome," said Tatum Gibson, Communications Director for Congressman
Richard Hudson.
Turns out these errors are pretty rare.
According to the Department of Veterans Affairs, between
October 2016 and September 2017, the VA suspended benefits for 105,529 total
beneficiaries identified by the Social Security Administration as having passed
away. Of those, 245 beneficiaries had their benefit awards reactivated due to
erroneous suspensions.
While that's about a 99 percent accuracy rate, the VA says
they're taking the following steps to improve the process:
If a notification of death is received by SSA, VA
automatically sends a notification letter to the beneficiary's last known
address informing his or her estate or survivors that VA has suspended payment
of benefits. This letter provides notice that VA will take action to terminate
benefits if the beneficiary does not contact VA regarding an error.
VA's adjudication procedures manual provides guidance for
claims processors on the actions associated with a third-party notice of death. When an error is identified, VA works diligently to restore
VA benefits as quickly as possible and can resume benefits within 24 hours.
SOURCE: ABC11