Nathalie Blanchard loses benefits over Facebook beach photos

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

Nathalie Blanchard lost Manulife benefits when she posted this and other photos of herself on Facebook.

Faking sick usually means avoiding public places. These days that includes the Internet.

A Quebec woman on long-term sick leave lost her benefits after she posted Facebook photos of herself frolicking on a beach.

CBC reports that a year and a half ago Nathalie Blanchard was diagnosed with depression and granted leave from her job at IBM in Bromont, Que.

The Manulife insurance company had been sending her monthly sick-leave benefits, but ceased payment when they found Blanchard’s photos on the social networking site.

Manulife reportedly said the pictures Blanchard posted to her private Facebook account prove she is no longer depressed. One showed her having fun at a Chippendales show, another at her birthday party and a third on a beach holiday.

Blanchard says she had told Manulife about the trip and that the pictures do not prove that her overall mood has improved.

"In the moment I'm happy, but before and after I have the same problems," she explains, adding that her doctors had advised her to have fun in order to forget her worries.

Blanchard's lawyer, Tom Lavin, requested a new psychiatric evaluation of his client, but thinks Manulife's investigation was inappropriate.

"I don't think for judging a mental state that Facebook is a very good tool," he said.

Manulife confirmed to CBC that it uses Facebook to investigate clients, but said they would not withdraw benefits simply based on that site.

"We would not deny or terminate a valid claim solely based on information published on websites such as Facebook," they said.

Blanchard estimates that the Facebook debacle has cost her thousands of dollars in benefits.

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/2009...ach_photos.html

[one...two...tree 2,762]

The insurance company should follow the advice of the doctor.

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

The insurance company should follow the advice of the doctor.

Then the insurance company is no longer an insurance company. Loss control is a central part of running a solid insurance business. This sounds like a good example of an insurance company's loss control staff doing precisely what they were hired to do.

[one...two...tree 2,762]

The insurance company should follow the advice of the doctor.

Then the insurance company is no longer an insurance company. Loss control is a central part of running a solid insurance business. This sounds like a good example of an insurance company's loss control staff doing precisely what they were hired to do.

They could be confined by regulations that prevent them from just acting on anecdotal evidence vs. the advice of personal doctor of the patient.

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

The insurance company should follow the advice of the doctor.

Then the insurance company is no longer an insurance company. Loss control is a central part of running a solid insurance business. This sounds like a good example of an insurance company's loss control staff doing precisely what they were hired to do.

They could be confined by regulations that prevent them from just acting on anecdotal evidence vs. the advice of personal doctor of the patient.

If you are able to go to Chippendale's, if you are able to go to the beach, if you are able to post pictures on Facebook and yuck it up with your friends, you are able to work.

[justashooter 430]

in english, this is called malingering.

[one...two...tree 2,762]

in english, this is called malingering.

So she fooled the doctor but not the insurance company, who is by far, more qualified to access a prognosis than any elitist doctor and his academic credentials?

[spookyturtle 9,465]

I told you guys Facebook sucks.

[scandal 951]

Quebec. La belle province.

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

The insurance company should follow the advice of the doctor.

Then the insurance company is no longer an insurance company. Loss control is a central part of running a solid insurance business. This sounds like a good example of an insurance company's loss control staff doing precisely what they were hired to do.

They could be confined by regulations that prevent them from just acting on anecdotal evidence vs. the advice of personal doctor of the patient.

If you are able to go to Chippendale's, if you are able to go to the beach, if you are able to post pictures on Facebook and yuck it up with your friends, you are able to work.

Word.

[Ban Hammer 13,334]

The insurance company should follow the advice of the doctor.

Then the insurance company is no longer an insurance company. Loss control is a central part of running a solid insurance business. This sounds like a good example of an insurance company's loss control staff doing precisely what they were hired to do.

They could be confined by regulations that prevent them from just acting on anecdotal evidence vs. the advice of personal doctor of the patient.

If you are able to go to Chippendale's, if you are able to go to the beach, if you are able to post pictures on Facebook and yuck it up with your friends, you are able to work.

[SMR 368]

I think I'm going to be depressed, too. I'll stay away from facebook.

[Krikit 1,164]

"In the moment I'm happy, but before and after I have the same problems," she explains, adding that her doctors had advised her to have fun in order to forget her worries.

Wow. That happens to me too. I didn't know I could collect disability for it, though. Darn.

[MrsCat 6]

I presume her employer pays the lion's share of the premium for this insurance, as well as the employer probably having to keep her position open until she returns. If that's the case, she really shouldn't expect the insurance company or the employer to understand that she needs time to get away from her problems.

I bet she returns to work real soon.

[one...two...tree 2,762]

If the insurance relied on the woman's doctor to diagnose and put her on paid medical leave, then the insurance company should consult with the same doctor on when he thinks she is well enough to return to work...and not rely on anecdotal evidence that she is well.

Edited November 23, 2009 by Galt's gallstones