Woman loses benefits due to Facebook photos

Should Facebook photos be used as evidence to judge the mental state of a woman who has been diagnosed with major depression? That is what a Canadian-based insurance company known as Manulife did when they decided to cut one woman’s benefits based on what they saw on her social networking page.

Nathalie Blanchard is attempting to get her disabilities benefits reinstated after Manulife cut them due to an online investigation. Blanchard is an employee at IBM in Quebec who has been on a paid sick leave for the past year and half. She has been diagnosis of major depression, and thought it was best to take time off to focus on her mental health.

During her sick leave, Manulife somehow reviewed photos on her private Facebook page. The insurance company discovered images of Blanchard partying at Chippendale’s for her birthday, as well as other photos of her on a beach vacation. Manulife decided that Blanchard could no longer be deemed depressed based on the photos, and they cut her benefits.

Blanchard’s lawyer Tom Lavin said the investigation was inappropriate.

“I don’t think for judging a mental state that Facebook is a very good tool. It’s not as if somebody had a broken back and there was a picture of them carrying a load of bricks. My client was diagnosed with major depression. And there were pictures of her on Facebook, at a party or having a good time. It could be that she was just trying to escape.” he said.

Lavin has ordered another psychiatric evaluation for Blanchard to help prove her mental condition.

Blanchard said that the Facebook photos are deceptive.

“In the moment I’m happy, but before and after I have the same problems as before,” she said.

Although Manulife would not comment on Blachard’s case, they provided a written statement to news organizations in Canada that stated the following:

“We would not deny or terminate a valid claim solely based on information published on websites such as Facebook.”

The insurance company does admit that they use Facebook as one source of evidence to investigate clients, and that they must weigh all information found on such sites.

Although I absolutely disagree with using Facebook or other social networking sites as a way to gather evidence against a client, I do feel the real problem is the amount of time Blanchard took off from work. Taking a year and a half off for major depression is unheard of in the United States, and would not be tolerated by any employer.

According to the National Institute of Mental Health, major depressive disorder affects approximately 14.8 million American adults, or about 6.7 percent of the U.S. population age 18 and older in a given year. Despite the seriousness of the condition, many of these people still get up and go to work each day.

Instead of dismissing her condition, Manulife should have focused on ways to treat Blanchard so she can go back to work. Is Blanchard taking medication to help alleviate the symptoms of depression? Is she going to therapy? In addition, Blanchard needs to stop taking advantage of her employer’s leniency and find ways to cure her mental state. I understand that depression can be so disabling that a person cannot focus on the task at hand. However, there are prescription drugs and medication that can help with depression.

Taking time off work due to major depression is understandable. Taking a year and half off work and getting paid for it is not.