This inquiry is regarding Power of Attorney granted in Virginia.
A friend of mine was the victim in a drunk-driving hit and run accident about 10 years ago in Virginia. The accident left the injured person with severe spinal cord injuries. The injured person won a lawsuit against a party considered to be a cause of injury through negligence. Shortly after the lawsuit, a parent of the injured person was granted legal and medical power of attorney because of the results of a psychological test administered to the injured person while he was in New Jersey and while he was in the early stages of recovery (he was medicated). Directly after power of attorney was given to the birth parent, the spouse of the birth parent adopted the injured person and the parent was convinced to give full power of attorney to the spouse. So, the birth parent has power of attorney over the injured and the birth parent's spouse (adoptive parent to the injured) has power of attorney over the birth parent. The injured person has told me that he was able to comprehend everything that was happening but was unable to communicate with anyone because he could not speak. In the 10 years since the accident, the birth parent and adoptive parent have spent large sums of the settlement money for their own recreation and have neglected to administer medically recommended rehabilitative treatment for the injured person. The injured person has even been physically abused by the adoptive parent (dumping him out of his wheel chair and dragging him around by his feet). The verbal abuse from either parent has occurred before and ever since the accident. The injured person has told me that he feels the he is trapped in his own home (he owns it) and his family treats him like he is mentally retarded or has the mind of a child simply because of his difficulty communicating. I have communicated with this person online many times and it is very obvious that he is not mentally challenged at all, he is very smart and feels that he can manage his own care and rehabilitation. I am helping him now while his parent is vacationing again. The parents even receive money fraudulently as caregivers using someone else's name. I have volunteered to help him until his parent returns. The only thing that stands in his way is the power of attorney granted to his parent and his difficulty communicating his problem to others. What should he do and what can I legally do to help him?
A friend of mine was the victim in a drunk-driving hit and run accident about 10 years ago in Virginia. The accident left the injured person with severe spinal cord injuries. The injured person won a lawsuit against a party considered to be a cause of injury through negligence. Shortly after the lawsuit, a parent of the injured person was granted legal and medical power of attorney because of the results of a psychological test administered to the injured person while he was in New Jersey and while he was in the early stages of recovery (he was medicated). Directly after power of attorney was given to the birth parent, the spouse of the birth parent adopted the injured person and the parent was convinced to give full power of attorney to the spouse. So, the birth parent has power of attorney over the injured and the birth parent's spouse (adoptive parent to the injured) has power of attorney over the birth parent. The injured person has told me that he was able to comprehend everything that was happening but was unable to communicate with anyone because he could not speak. In the 10 years since the accident, the birth parent and adoptive parent have spent large sums of the settlement money for their own recreation and have neglected to administer medically recommended rehabilitative treatment for the injured person. The injured person has even been physically abused by the adoptive parent (dumping him out of his wheel chair and dragging him around by his feet). The verbal abuse from either parent has occurred before and ever since the accident. The injured person has told me that he feels the he is trapped in his own home (he owns it) and his family treats him like he is mentally retarded or has the mind of a child simply because of his difficulty communicating. I have communicated with this person online many times and it is very obvious that he is not mentally challenged at all, he is very smart and feels that he can manage his own care and rehabilitation. I am helping him now while his parent is vacationing again. The parents even receive money fraudulently as caregivers using someone else's name. I have volunteered to help him until his parent returns. The only thing that stands in his way is the power of attorney granted to his parent and his difficulty communicating his problem to others. What should he do and what can I legally do to help him?
Last edited: