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Personal Injury Settlement

 
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man_of_words



Joined: 18 Oct 2008
Location: Seoul

PostPosted: Tue Dec 02, 2008 7:10 am    Post subject: Personal Injury Settlement Reply with quote

Has anyone been through this here? I am trying to figure out what I should do here after an accident caused by the negligence of a company. They're already paying for my doctor's bills but I'm suffering and I need more than that for my trouble. Any advice would be appreciated.
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Milwaukiedave



Joined: 02 Oct 2004
Location: Goseong

PostPosted: Tue Dec 02, 2008 11:11 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

MOW,

Can you give us some more specifics without compromising the agreement you have with this company?

My wife was clipped by a car a couple of weeks ago. She got their insurance info and has been seeing a doctor ever since. Luckily it wasn't serious, but it did cause some pain in her foot and leg. Her friend told her not to settle right away and to make sure to go to the doctor until she feels better, even if it takes a couple of months. Once they close a case, I think it's pretty difficult to go back and get it reopened. So, I'd keep going until the doctor gives you a clean bill of health.

Make sure to save any receipts from expenses you occur as the company (or their insurance) should pick up those costs.

Note: I'm not a lawyer and I don't play one on TV
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justaguy



Joined: 01 Jan 2008
Location: seoul

PostPosted: Tue Dec 02, 2008 4:20 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I second that statement.

Especially if you get hurt on the job. Don't play tough guy and stop going to the doctor. Stay in the hospital if the doctor tells you to. Keep all your reciepts, records and follow the doctor's orders. Do not sign anything you don't understand. Have a Korean friend or your doctor check it for you.

Be wary of people whom you don't know showing up at the hospital asking about your health, and encouraging you to go back to work ASAP. These people are often employees of the company you work for, possibly a lawyer, or insurance investigator checking out how much of an insurance risk/liability you may be to the company.

I have seen Koreans hurt on the job, who left the hospital and went back to work, against their doctor's orders, when they shouldn't have. They screwed themselves out of compensation and were stuck paying for their future medical bills by doing so.


This is serious stuff. Don't screw yourself.
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man_of_words



Joined: 18 Oct 2008
Location: Seoul

PostPosted: Tue Dec 02, 2008 8:18 pm    Post subject: not on the job Reply with quote

Thanks for the responses on this so far... My injury was not on the job, it was actually due to some hazardous conditions left by one of the sidewalk construction crews around town. The injury couldn't be called a serious one I don't think, but the pain has been persistent and I am unable to use my left hand for much more than holding a few sheets of paper and not even for very long at that. The splint should be coming off soon but I know the recovery won't be quick, extending my arm or folding it in too far is still too painful to do. Life has become a series of slow, one-handed activities (including typing right now). They have accepted responsibility by covering my medical bills, I haven't even seen the charge for my ambulance ride or emergency room visit/x-rays etc. A man from the construction company accompanied me to the hospital. I guess I should ask for documentation of it though, right?

My primary concern is and should be my recovery which I hope will be quicker than how I'm feeling it might be. I'm told by some that the system here is somewhat like the States' in that monetary compensation ought to be sought for pain and suffering. Some coin would be nice but I feel really strongly that whoever was dumb enough to leave the sidewalk in such a state for any period of time for pedestrians to cross should know that he caused the company to lose money. They should collectively revisit the Standard Operating Procedures for such cases. As I waited for an ambulance another woman fell the exact same way I did. Had I not been in so much pain I would have expressed how pissed I was over the situation.

I've always been conscious of frivolous claims and suits that clog up the judicial system back home but it doesn't feel frivolous when holding an umbrella to get on board a bus huts like hell. It's a little scary and I'm not at all happy that I'm in this situation.
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GoldMember



Joined: 24 Oct 2006

PostPosted: Tue Dec 02, 2008 8:27 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Forget about getting money for pain and suffering. It just doesn't exist, no matter how much agony you go through.
There is only payment to cover medical bills and loss of earnings.
The only way you are going to get "compensated" for pay and suffering is to
find a sympathetic doctor who will lie about how much treatment you need.
You really need 10 consultations at 40,000 each the doctor says you need 110. There you go 4,000,000 for pain and suffering.
That's why its very important to develop a relationship here with your regular doctor, just in case!
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ChinaBoy



Joined: 17 Feb 2007

PostPosted: Tue Dec 02, 2008 9:32 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

You probably need a LAWYER, not advice from the forums. Each case will be different in specifics and results.
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victorology



Joined: 10 Sep 2007

PostPosted: Tue Dec 02, 2008 9:35 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

ChinaBoy wrote:
You probably need a LAWYER, not advice from the forums. Each case will be different in specifics and results.


I agree. There is money to be paid for pain and suffering. I wouldn't be asking on an ESL forum. I would first ask a Korean I am close to and if they can't offer more help, ask an attorney.
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Young FRANKenstein



Joined: 02 Oct 2006
Location: Castle Frankenstein (that's FRONKensteen)

PostPosted: Tue Dec 02, 2008 10:11 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

GoldMember wrote:
That's why its very important to develop a relationship here with your regular doctor, just in case!

Hard to have a regular doctor when one is never sick.
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Typhoon



Joined: 29 May 2007
Location: Daejeon

PostPosted: Tue Dec 02, 2008 10:33 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

GoldMember wrote:
Forget about getting money for pain and suffering. It just doesn't exist, no matter how much agony you go through.
There is only payment to cover medical bills and loss of earnings.
The only way you are going to get "compensated" for pay and suffering is to
find a sympathetic doctor who will lie about how much treatment you need.
You really need 10 consultations at 40,000 each the doctor says you need 110. There you go 4,000,000 for pain and suffering.
That's why its very important to develop a relationship here with your regular doctor, just in case!


Yup. Having had two car accidents where the other driver was 100% at fault I can tell you that it is very difficult to get any more money than what you lost from not working and the covering of hospital bills. I went to the hospital everday for 3 months. The insurance company was desperate to settle and I insisted on getting money for my "pain and suffering" before I would settle. They just laughed at me. They agreed to give me an extra 3 million to cover future hospital bills as long as I would sign a paper releasing them from any further responsibility. If you want to get some extra money you need to go and stay in a hospital and run up sizable bills. This will want make the company want to pay you off and then you can get a little extra. This is the only way I have known people to get any sizable payoff from injury settlements. You have to be willing to miss work time, lay in a hospital bed for a couple of weeks/months and make the company pay. Then they will settle for a little more money.
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Straphanger



Joined: 09 Oct 2008
Location: Chilgok, Korea

PostPosted: Thu Dec 04, 2008 8:00 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Young FRANKenstein wrote:
GoldMember wrote:
That's why its very important to develop a relationship here with your regular doctor, just in case!

Hard to have a regular doctor when one is never sick.

lol, yeah, kinda like ... why have car insurance when you never get into a accident? It's like.. such a waste of money, ya know?

(An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Don't be six months late for your six month checkup. Don't be a dick - get a "regular" doctor.)
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Young FRANKenstein



Joined: 02 Oct 2006
Location: Castle Frankenstein (that's FRONKensteen)

PostPosted: Thu Dec 04, 2008 8:24 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Straphanger wrote:
Young FRANKenstein wrote:
GoldMember wrote:
That's why its very important to develop a relationship here with your regular doctor, just in case!

Hard to have a regular doctor when one is never sick.

lol, yeah, kinda like ... why have car insurance when you never get into a accident? It's like.. such a waste of money, ya know?

More like why have car insurance when one doesn't drive in Korea.

Quote:
Don't be six months late for your six month checkup. Don't be a dick - get a "regular" doctor.)

I have a regular doctor. He just doesn't live in Korea. He does my yearly physicals just fine thanks.

And why am I a dick? Because I don't wish to experience the various indignities and/or bullshit foreigners often experience in Korean hospitals? I don't live in Seoul and have the benefit of "international" clinics.
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Straphanger



Joined: 09 Oct 2008
Location: Chilgok, Korea

PostPosted: Thu Dec 04, 2008 9:31 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Young FRANKenstein wrote:
And why am I a dick? Because I don't wish to experience the various indignities and/or bullshit foreigners often experience in Korean hospitals? I don't live in Seoul and have the benefit of "international" clinics.

How do you track the most basic vital signs like blood pressure, temperature, things like that? I don't live in Seoul either, but my doctor is exceptional. He doesn't speak very good English, but I speak pretty decent doctor, so between the two of us, we perform a full evaluation of my health status every three months, just like back home. It costs 12,000 won.
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