Nathalie Blanchard, 29, employed by IBM in Bromont, has been off work for 1 year and a half after receiving a diagnosis of major depression. While off work, Blanchard had been collecting sick-leave benefits.
This fall Manulife insurance stopped payments.
According to Blanchard, Manulife have stopped the payments because her Facebook paged showed her vacationing at the beach and enjoyng the company of a male stripper.
The insurer Manulife confirmed to CBC that they used the social networking site to investigate their client, but it does not would base a decision solely on information published on these sites.
Manulife spokesman Tom Nunn said “we would not deny or terminate a valid claim solely based on information published on websites such as Facebook.”
Nathalie Blanchard says that on the advice of her doctor, she tried to have fun, especially going out in bars with friends or leaving for short trips.
Nathalie Blanchard claims to have lost thousands of dollars since the decision of Manulife.
Blanchard is planning to take her case to court.
Insurance Company Pulls Payments After Seeing Facebook Photos
She got caught, fraud is fraud is fraud, maybe Manulife will sue her as well. Sorry, but I don’t feel the least bit sorry for her, as it is people like her that drive my premiums up. How she got caught does not matter in the least, when you post information on the web, it is NOT private nor confidential, good grief!
Her party time has come to an end. Lesson learned for others out there committing similar offences.
What a sham. Now people can’t even smile. You would be surprised how many people hurt inside yet put on a happy face, With medication. pretty harsh comment. I would tell Dick tracy to get a life.
Major Depression is no joke, though I question the year of benefits. Dysthimia, Cyclothimia, “Bipolar Depression”, these are chronic conditions that may require a year or longer to find a tolerable therapeutic regime. A major depressive episode is usually acute. That being said, to say that someone who is depressed can’t smile is inane. Many people suffer in silence; though I think the doctor is being a little generous telling her to go have a good time and take a year off work. Once she starts feeling better she should do a little bit at a time, including a modified work program. Usually when you are collecting benefits you arent allowed to leave the province, so I think regardless of the facebook photo’s there is some blatant misuse of the time and money provided by the insurance company. Situations like this make it difficult for people with chronic mental health conditions or serious acute conditions to get the time, money and help they need.
Shame on you Dick.
I have to side with Dick on this one. I can’t stand fraud. It hurts everyone else. It is obvious there is more going on than just the FB pictures. I suspect they got a tip and followed it up. I say this because I see fraud in my line of work all the time. Why can’t some people do an honest days work? I know of a case where a woman got caught faking a pregnancy to get a year off work. Another person was filling out prescriptions and then flushing them down the toilet; guys playing hockey but couldn’t work as a server. The list goes on.
Any depressed person can be caught smiling.
It makes me mad to think of all those depressed people who will now have a new, partially justified, reason for anxiety.
The world has just become less innocent by one degree
All of you people who believe she is mentally ill are just going on hearsay I bet you I could find a ton of doctors who say she is perfectly fine. Wake up people life can be very derpressing it doesnt mean you are sick. Maybe she should have tried to get a job she liked.
What EVIDENCE of fraud is presented in the article, NONE?
How the MORONS can assume guilt without factual evidence indicates they are conservatives, NOT thinkers.
Jim
Cincinnatus, Ohia
How about having over 600 “friends”? Wow, she’s really disconnected with the rest of the world.
If she was suffering from MAJOR DEPRESSION, I am surprised she can get out of bed, never mind hopping on a plane. Methinks someone’s too busy on FB to get back to work.
A person suffering from true clinical depression is very unlikely to participate in social networking of any kind. It is a main symptom of their depressive condition an inability to relate to other people in everyday activities. I dont have all the fact so I cant be conclusive but I would wager she is not suffering from debilitative depression.
Agreed Dr. Phil, I rest my case!
To drepressed to work you say?? NOT to drepress to frolic on beaches down south, bugger around the strip joints and party party party.
Did you think you could collect pay for the rest of your life??
Get off you lazy ass and get back to work.
p.s. and yes I have sufferred clinical depression for some time but with the proper meds and a real effort I went back to work after a couple of months and the work actually helped get my mind off the depression
Here’s a comment I found on another discussion group.
hyphenate says:
Mon Nov 23 17:34:10 PST 2009
There is more to this story than the original article mentions. There is a quote directly from the insurance company that says they did use the Facebook pictures, but the termination of benefits was based on a lot more than just the Facebook information.
Her profile was locked, but she has a Friend list of over 600 people, so someone likely reported her.
And for the depression, you can’t “turn on” and “turn off.” She was either depressed or not, and I don’t think she was–and this is coming from someone who has been diagnosed clinically depressed for ten years. I have had literally no connection with anyone except for about 5 people over the past 6 years, don’t go out much at all, except to the doctor’s office, and have lost incalcuable numbers of friends simply because I have no motivation to keep in touch. I have lost three of my closest friends, two to death and one to complex circumstances, two heart attacks, financial issues, diabetes, thoughts of suicide (not followed through), and mostly isolation from this disease.
Instead of a knee jerk reaction against the insurer, this situation gets more press from sensationalism from failing to report the entire case. It isn’t just in this particular site, but most places. If people have access to the whole case, they will have a more indepth idea of the circumstances, and have a more concrete set of facts on which to base an opinion.
If she truly is clinically depressed and yes, that is likely, as I have suffered it as well, I find it bewildering why she would subject herself to a court case for a few thousand a month or whatever the benefits were. The court case history and public exposure will have far lasting career damaging impacts, than getting the helps she needs, recovering, and getting her ass back to work. Give me a break! It looks more like a case of look at me complex, 600 facebook friends for someone with major depression…too busy on facebook to get back to work is more like it! Perhaps she just didn’t like her job and saw a way to get 78 weeks of paid holidays.
I just figured it out, this girl simply lacks intelligence, maybe she wasn’t scamming after-all, and simply thought strip clubs and hot spot vacations were one of the perks of paid sick leave = check out her video interview
http://news.cnet.com/8301-17852_3-10404633-71.html