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Korean Job Discussion Forums "The Internet's Meeting Place for ESL/EFL Teachers from Around the World!"
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Rock
Joined: 25 Feb 2005
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Posted: Mon May 18, 2009 5:24 am Post subject: Pursuing a Lawsuit |
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I think I'm going to pursue a lawsuit and wonder if anyone here's ever had to do so. The case is very likely to be won, but I wonder if it's right to even get the ball rolling. I'll tell you why.
I'd been renting a house that could've given me a good dose of electrocution. It wasn't properly grounded and had poor wiring. The landlady denies this all, of course, and even got nasty about it. So my thoughts are, to seek legal justice.
If you were me, would you attempt to sue someone, and that in order to seek legal justice? If so, and regarding my case-life endangerment-how much would you seek for compensation? |
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climber159

Joined: 02 Sep 2007
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Posted: Mon May 18, 2009 4:02 pm Post subject: |
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Were you injured? Can you prove it? Are you able to afford a good lawyer? How much longer do you have on the lease? You might do better to just get out of there and find a new place. See if you can work out an agreement with your landlady about leaving early. If you simply threaten her with legal action she may fold. Good luck. |
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agoodmouse

Joined: 20 Dec 2007 Location: Anyang
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Posted: Mon May 18, 2009 6:26 pm Post subject: |
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What happened exactly?  |
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Rock
Joined: 25 Feb 2005
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Posted: Tue May 19, 2009 6:14 am Post subject: |
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agoodmouse wrote: |
What happened exactly?  |
I received electrical shocks during heavy rainstorms, called the landlady, and she blamed me for a pond I'd dug-with her permission-outside in the front yard.
Thing is, she denied the house was the problem, almost kept my deposit. I found out the house wasn't properly wired/grounded, and it wasn't the pond.
Yes, I could've been injured too, or killed. She won't admit the house is too old, because she's unwilling to pay for repairs(it says she should in my contract.) A big battle ensued, and I just want to seek legal justice to solve it. |
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tzechuk

Joined: 20 Dec 2004
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Posted: Tue May 19, 2009 6:39 am Post subject: |
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Sorry, Rock, that you are going through this, but you're not going to win it.
NO Korean appliances, houses - whatever - are grounded. My ex-k-husband always dismantled all our electrical appliances (including washing machine) to ground them himself. That was always one of his biggest complaints about Korea... |
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Kuros
Joined: 27 Apr 2004
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Posted: Tue May 19, 2009 7:11 am Post subject: |
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tzechuk wrote: |
Sorry, Rock, that you are going through this, but you're not going to win it.
NO Korean appliances, houses - whatever - are grounded. My ex-k-husband always dismantled all our electrical appliances (including washing machine) to ground them himself. That was always one of his biggest complaints about Korea... |
Are you a lawyer?
Rock,
You don't know what the laws are and neither do English teachers. Sit down with a lawyer and let them do some research on the issue. Korea (or the province/city you live in) may have an explicit law requiring houses to be grounded. |
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Young FRANKenstein

Joined: 02 Oct 2006 Location: Castle Frankenstein (that's FRONKensteen)
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Posted: Tue May 19, 2009 7:29 am Post subject: |
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Kuros wrote: |
Sit down with a lawyer and let them do some research on the issue. |
Don't pay for it, though. Go to the Seoul Bar Association or the Foreigner Help Center at City Hall. Both have websites and both have attorneys who provide free consultations. |
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Rock
Joined: 25 Feb 2005
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Posted: Wed May 20, 2009 11:39 pm Post subject: |
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This is a gray area, I know. The laws aren't the real issue, however, since it has to do with who's at fault. Was it me or the landlord?
If she was at fault, I could win, since it can be proven. Yes, it wasn't grounded properly, and yes, there's faulty wiring inside the house, and yes, it's an old house. These are the facts I'm standing upon.
Instead, she blames me, and that for a fish pond I'd built. There are laws, I believe, against negligence and life endangerment. Korea does have such laws when it comes to safety inspections of new buildings, and they should apply to old as well.
But I'm not in Korea!! I'm in Taiwan. The imput on this forum is better than the Taiwan Forum, however, which is why I'd posted here.
We'll see what happens, since it's a slow process, requiring lots of money. Yet if I wasn't told about the danger, and that via writing, then it may be I can fight it. |
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