Only on 13: Case of mistaken identity leads Houston woman on legal and financial goose-chase

Friday, November 22, 2024 7:33PM CT
HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- A Houston woman's two-year financial and legal battle started with a phone call.

"It was a hospital, a nurse from an emergency room asking for the next of kin or emergency contact for myself," Myla Dixon said.

Dixon said she was told a woman was intoxicated, got into a crash, and police took her to the hospital. The name, address, phone number, and identity of that woman were all Dixon's.

"There were a lot of questions. Do they have a physical identification card in their possession? Did you physically see an identification card when they were administered? Those questions were unanswered," Dixon said.

Dixon doesn't know how the woman was misidentified as her. The hospital said it couldn't release any information once the mistake was identified. Dixon filed a police report for identity fraud, but a month later her mailbox started filling up.



"I started getting documentation from legal offices in Houston that were offering to help me fight a traffic violation," Dixon said.

Dixon said car insurance collection agencies, and medical bills for tens of thousands of dollars were rolling in. There were also court summons for the car accident. Dixon was able to get documentation through Harris County to prove she was not the person in that crash or in the hospital that night. But the saga doesn't end there.

She found out the incident is still attached to her name in a database called LexisNexis. Many companies, including car insurance companies, use this site to look at your record and background. The car crash Dixon was not involved in is still reflected in her LexisNexis record, so she's paying insurance prices that reflect that.

"It's frustrating. There's a lot of time and energy that's been sunk into this incident, and just when you think it goes away, it doesn't," Dixon said.

Dixon said she never could get anyone at Lexis Nexis to get back to her. ABC13 reached out, and Lexis Nexis tells us they will contact Dixon to resolve it.



Dixon hopes this is the last hoop she has to jump through.

"What are the other hidden implications or impacts? I don't know about it just yet. Where is my data sitting? And it brings to mind data cleanliness. How do you get to own your record and your data?" Dixon asked.

If you believe your record is incorrect in NexisLexis, you can dispute it through the consumer portal or call 1-800-456-6004.

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