Are you on medical leave for depression? You better make sure your Facebook profile doesn't show you having too much fun.

Are you on medical leave for depression? You better make sure your Facebook profile doesn't show you having too much fun.

A Canadian woman lost the monthly sick-leave benefits she was receiving for depression after her insurance company said that Facebook photos of the woman on a beach and at her birthday party proved that she was no longer suffering from the disease, CBC News reports.

Nathalie Blanchard is an IBM employee in Quebec, but has been on leave for major depression for the past year. Her insurance company, Manulife, gained access to her profile pictures, however, and cut off her benefits in the fall.

Blanchard does not know how Manulife saw her Facebook profile since it is restricted to her friends. She said she attended the events in question at the suggestion of her doctor, and that she informed Manulife about her vacation.

"In the moment I'm happy, but before and after I have the same problems" as before, she told CBC.

Manulife confirmed that it uses social networking sites like Facebook to investigate claims, but said it "would not deny or terminate a valid claim solely based on information published on websites such as Facebook."



Blanchard is fighting to have the benefits reinstated.