Woman Loses Benefits over Facebook Photo

Well...this is interesting..

Here's a tidbit:

(BROMONT, Quebec) — A Canadian woman on long-term sick leave for depression says she lost her benefits because her insurance agent found photos of her on Facebook in which she appeared to be having fun.

Nathalie Blanchard has been on leave from her job at IBM in Bromont, Quebec, for the last year.

The Canadian Broadcasting Corp. reported Saturday she was diagnosed with major depression and was receiving monthly sick-leave benefits from insurance giant Manulife.

But the payments dried up this fall and when Blanchard called Manulife, she says she was told she was available to work because of Facebook.
(Read "What Happens to Your Facebook When You Die?")

She said her insurance agent described several pictures Blanchard posted on Facebook, including ones showing her having a good time at a Chippendales bar show, at her birthday party and on a sun holiday.

Blanchard said Manulife told her it's evidence she is no longer depressed. She's fighting to get her benefits reinstated and says her lawyer is exploring what the next step should be.

Blanchard told the CBC that on her doctor's advice, she tried to have fun, including nights out at her local bar with friends and short getaways to sun destinations, as a way to forget her problems.

Manulife wouldn't comment on Blanchard's case, but did say they would not deny or terminate a claim solely based on information published on Web sites such as Facebook.

Story can be found here.

So the company states it wouln't deny coverage based on photos from Facebook, yet that's exactly what they told her when she called in to inquire about it. This is just wrong.

Another expample of how dangerous things like facebook are if you don't protect yourself.

Thoughts?

~Keeper

I feel this is appropriate! It is no different than sending out a private investigator to catch someone on worker's comp chopping wood or water skiing. In this case, she sank her own ship. Suppose the insurance company was suspicious, and sent a tail to observe her, and he took photos of her doing this stuff. That would be perfectly appropriate, so this is also!

I don't disagree about the dangers of our modern communication devices. YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, Texting, etc. Things today happen in microseconds for all the world to see!! It is a scary time, but the next couple of generations will adapt, and we will all be better from it! (Hopefully!)

All she has to do is say she was having fun because she was under the influence of alcohol, but it was a false fun, that's not lasting.

Therefore, she should tell IBM to reinstate her funds, if they refuse she can say, o.k. you win I will go back to work and not be depressed, as long as you let me drink on the job!

This is stupid.. the proof is on her side that she appeared happy while she was at a BAR!

Not knowing all the details and the depth of this, I can't really say whether it was justified or not. It does point out how pervasive things like MySpace and Facebook can be and what they can reveal if you let them. But I will also say that even the most depressed person can pull off some semblance of normalcy at times, for a minute. Plaster on a smile and go. Sometimes it even helps. Mostly it doesn't.

reply to post by JohnPhoenix


But the thing is she was out socializing, which means she could goto work.

How many times has facebook, been found to being used to do this sort of thing now.

thoughts are. i find it amazing that one can get benefits for having the blues..

Facebook is not the problem. The problem is the diagnosis of depression in the first place. I'm sure everyone gets a little depressed every once in a while (especially with our current President), but being in a constant state of depression is a myth. Thanks Facebook!

Originally posted by MR BOB
thoughts are. i find it amazing that one can get benefits for having the blues..

If you cannot work around people because of depression, how do you expect people to live?

So let's get this straight...she is in such major depression she can't get herself up to work but she can go out and party?

Yeah I am gonna be a jerk and side with insurance as well

I don't care that she partied...that's her perogative but it sure raises the question as to how bad she truly was.

I was in a serious funk for about a year of my life and the last thing I wanted was any sort of social communication...

I dunno...maybe I am a touch on the fence if I really think about it but I am not so quick to jump on the company's case on this one

As the second or third poster said...alot is missing here

I just know as a psych major and hopefully (fingers crossed) soon to be graduate student in clinical therapy that major depression doesn't just go away when work hours are over

-Kyo

Originally posted by andy1033
reply to post by JohnPhoenix

 

But the thing is she was out socializing, which means she could goto work.

How many times has facebook, been found to being used to do this sort of thing now.

Oh sure I agree the woman could be milking this, but i'm saying the "evidence" doesn't prove that she is still not depressed. we do not know what definition of depressed they used. Depression is a deep long serious issue that does NOT go away if a person has one night of fun now and then...


Would you rather have his woman be curled up in a ball crying 24/7 365 days a year to prove she's really depressed?

And note.. they said depressed.. not chronically depressed.. and if they did.. what definition do they use.. we simply dont know..

Based on the information given, I feel my answer is right and the proof is on her side... if we had more info, I may feel differently.

reply to post by JohnPhoenix


I would think if your able to goto crowded places and go boozing, you most probably are able to work with others.

remember people genuinely have problems with people, so not everyone can work with others, thats why she is exploiting the system.

Of course we do not know, but they have seen the pictures, and you would think they know more.

For those of you that seem to think that depression is just sitting at home painting charcoal portraits of silhouettes on their lonesome, and crying themselves to sleep really need to think this through.

As it is said, it's hard to tell if someone is suffering from depression. The most depressed person could be the person you view as the most radiant person ever. Just because they don't hang out with friends and cry in publc or commit suicide is because, well, figure it out for yourself. Would you be doing that?

The thing that bothers me these days is that depression is generalised by society, and many people get misdiagnosed with it. "Oh, I'm depressed because it's a cloudy day and I got caught up in traffic" is not a valid excuse for depression. As much as people that double check to see if their door is locked are not OCD sufferers.

It's an internal thing. People that are having real depressive episodes will keep it to themselves. They might smile on the outside, but on the inside there's a shadow watching them. Taunting them. Making them wonder if it's even all worth it at the end of the day.

[edit on 23-11-2009 by Whine Flu]

reply to post by Whine Flu

reply to post by Whine Flu


But you do have to remember that her depression is so crippling she cannot bear to go outside to go to work...that is where I start to ponder what is really happening.

It's easy with a thing like a leg or a back...if you break your back and get workers comp then are jet skiing you are clearly milking it

The thing is this woman is under such intense depression she has determined she cannot function at work. A true disabling handicap means your life will be radically changed and in this case her depression is truely disabling. It just seems a bit off that she is so darn bad she can't function at all at work yet she can be fine for a night of drinking

-Kyo

OOOOH!

I forgot too that if she is so crippled by depression is a bar a good place for a women like that?

What is a horrendous concern wih depression...suicide. So some doctor believes she is in such horrific depression she can't work...so she adds alcohol to the mix (or at least what these photos show)

Perhaps a simple call to manulife to explain what was going on might have been in order

"Manulife Rep (insert name here) My doctor has asked that I try to go out and enjoy myself...will this be an issue with my benefits?"

Simple...It just seems awful fishy to me

-Kyo

[edit on 23-11-2009 by KyoZero]

Actually, that is a pretty damn good point. I've been a sufferer for years now, and goddamn, even being in public brings on the shakes and a cloudy mind. Being in a bar? Damn, being in a place like that would be horrible.

But yeah. I'm only just going on the story as it's presented. I usually jump to conclusions a bit too fast. I really need to learn how to take an objective approach to things. Totally hard to do so, though, being that objectivity is subjectivity.

My head hurts.

reply to post by tothetenthpower


Reading this I'm happy I don't live in Canada or US for that matter.

I've been 'sick' on sickleave for nearly 2 years and my doc told me to go out and enjoy myself. So happy she did say that, I would have gotten into a total depression if I had to sit at home 24 hrs a day.

Pictures often aren't 'proof' enough if someone is suffering from depression. Those who ever had depressions do know how easy it is to put on your funny face and pretend nothing is wrong .......

I know someone who is on sickleave right now for a 'burn out' and she's surfing the web almost 24/7 ...... that's something what's not easy to proof too ......

Live and let live is my credo!

[edit on 11/23/2009 by Melyanna Tengwesta]

Luckily Canada has such great healthcare that their system can afford to pay people to stay home. She ought to double up on all the cheap px drugs and get back to work and make room for the next person looking for an extended holiday.

I forgot to mention earlier. It is very, very easy to set your profile to "private!"

She wanted all the world to see her happy photos, and so they did!

reply to post by tothetenthpower


Wait a minute.... so if she had posted a photo of herself looking unhappy, then this complete debacle would never have happened. Whilst the photo may indicate that she isn't depressed, it certainly doesn't prove it.

Aren't depressed people supposed to feel any sort of pleasure, even for a 1 second. Isn't depression more an on-off thing, rather than an off thing all of the time?

Next we'll have govt. cameras inside depressed people's homes, and if they dare to have sex and look like they're having fun, or even dare laugh, the govt. will arrest them for fraud.

Anyway people should learn from this, and not give anyone ammunition, and keep away from facebook. Do people really need to post photos of their life, or write blogs of what they had to eat, especially when it isn't anonymous!