A data storage device reads a data unit from a memory page, detects a number of data bit errors in the data unit, and generates a bit error indicator identifying bit indexes of the data bit errors in the data unit. The data storage device reads the data unit from the memory page once again and generates a corrected data unit by correcting data bit errors in the data unit based on the error correction code if the number of data bit errors in the data unit does not exceed an error correction capacity of the error correction code. Otherwise, the data storage device generates a modified data unit based on the data unit by negating at least one erroneous data bit the data unit based on the bit error indicator and corrects any remaining data bit errors in the modified data unit based on the error correction code.