Power of Attorney and an Injury Claim: What It Lets You Do, and What It Does Not

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No Ozempic or other GLP-1 lawsuit has been settled, and no court or jury has found that these medications caused anyone's injury — the litigation is ongoing, with major expert-evidence rulings still ahead. Whether any individual has a claim depends on their own medical records and the law of their state. Do not stop, start, or change any prescribed medication because of anything on this page. Those decisions belong with your prescriber. Attorney Advertising.

A power of attorney can let you sign documents, hire a lawyer, and handle an injury claim on behalf of someone who cannot — but only if the document’s own wording covers legal claims, and only while that person is alive. You do not need a power of attorney to call and ask questions. Marin & Murphy is currently accepting Ozempic (GLP-1) gastroparesis and NAION cases, including calls from appointed agents.

This page is general information about how powers of attorney interact with injury claims. It is not legal advice about your document, and it is not state-specific: the rules on what a power of attorney must say, how it must be signed, and when it takes effect vary from state to state. If you have a document in hand, the right move is to have someone read the actual document.

The short version

• You do not need one to ask. Learning what the litigation is, whether the criteria fit, and what documents matter requires no legal authority at all.
• You may need one to sign. Retaining a lawyer, signing a medical-records authorization, and verifying court filings are acts performed by or for the injured person.
• Not every power of attorney reaches this far. A document written for banking or real estate may not authorize bringing a lawsuit. The scope is whatever the document says it is.
• A health-care proxy is a different thing. It authorizes medical decisions, not litigation — though it is often useful for obtaining records.
• It ends at death. A power of attorney has no force once the person dies. From that point the authority belongs to the estate’s personal representative. See our wrongful-death page.

What “durable” and “springing” mean

A durable power of attorney stays effective if the person later becomes incapacitated. A non-durable one generally does not, which is exactly backwards from what most families need. A springing power of attorney takes effect only on a triggering event, usually a physician’s certification of incapacity — which means someone has to produce that certification before the document does anything. General or “general durable” powers of attorney are broad; limited or special ones cover only what they name.

For an injury claim, the language people look for is authority over claims, litigation, or legal proceedings. Some standard state forms include that as a check-box category. Some documents drafted for a narrow purpose do not.

Where it actually matters in a GLP-1 claim

Three moments:

Retaining the firm. The representation agreement is a contract with the injured person. An agent with adequate authority can sign for them; without it, the injured person signs.

Medical records. Federal privacy rules govern who can authorize release. A personal representative under those rules — which can include an agent under a power of attorney or health-care proxy, depending on the document — may sign the authorization. This is the step where families most often discover their document is narrower than they thought.

Verifying filings and responses. Later in a case, plaintiffs must certify written discovery responses and fact sheets. Courts want to know who is signing and under what authority, which is why we ask about the document early rather than late.

What we will ask you for

A copy of the document, the date it was signed, whether it is durable, whether it names claims or litigation, and whether any triggering condition has been satisfied. If a court has appointed a guardian or conservator instead, that appointment order does similar work and we will ask for it instead. If you are not sure which of these you have, send what you have — sorting that out is our job, not yours.

If no document exists

That is common and not a dead end. If the injured person can make their own decisions, they can simply sign for themselves, even if you handle everything else around it. If they cannot, and no document exists, a guardianship or conservatorship proceeding in their home state may be necessary — a step worth discussing before anyone starts it, because it is not always required for what your family is trying to accomplish.

Common questions

For families & caregivers: the spouse & caregiver guide, the caregiver checklist, calling for a parent, and wrongful-death claims.