A judge has ruled against MetLife in a total and permanent disability (TPD) dispute, rejecting arguments that a woman’s Facebook activity showed she could return to the workforce.

Justice Stephen Robb says former police officer Bernadette Hellessey is entitled to TPD payments after post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and major depressive order forced her to leave her job.

“It is simply not realistic to expect that a psychologically incapacitated person who cannot be relied upon to get out of bed in the morning, or to properly dress herself, or to communicate naturally with supervisors, co-workers and the public, will ever be employable in any real way,” he told the NSW Supreme Court.

MetLife explored Ms Hellessey’s Facebook page without her permission, treating psychiatrist Anthony Durrell said in evidence presented to the court. The company found she had 667 Facebook friends and had written posts about attending horse shows and events.

Justice Robb says some of the posts cited by MetLife, if taken at face value and in isolation, suggest she “had a wonderful time at various horse shows, and that her participation was something in the nature of a party”.

But the court heard, in reality, she has few friends, the posts do not reflect her overall situation and medical expert opinion suggests the horse-related activities and Facebook posts were therapeutic and do not exclude a PTSD diagnosis.

Ms Hellessey condemned MetLife on Facebook for disguising its identify to gain access to family and friends’ profiles, and for using her “innocent niece”.

She described MetLife as “absolute pond scum” that she hoped would “rot in hell”.

Treating psychiatrist Dr Durrell told the court he was annoyed by the invasion of privacy because it increased Ms Hellessey’s distress and Facebook was one of her sole outlets to interact with the world.

Justice Robb says MetLife relied on its own lay view that the posts were contrary to the social phobia Ms Hellessey reported to doctors.

“While there was considerable evidence that Ms Hellessey did not lead the life of a hermit, the evidence from the surveillance report and the Facebook posts did not justify the conclusion reached by MetLife, as a matter of its own judgement, because MetLife ignored the opinions of the medical experts,” he said.

Justice Robb ruled Ms Hellessey is entitled to the TPD benefits, which total $788,753, plus interest and costs to be determined by the parties.