Electrocuted in my apartment in JC after two years of complaining about the wiring, what next?

Submitted by fossfirefighter t3_1119m9r in jerseycity

Pretty much as the subject says. Got shocked due to an outlet lacking ground. The wiring here has been el major suspect for a long time. Been trying to go through everything on the state website to figure out what I need to do, maybe someone here will be able to help.

My building is owned by one of the big leasing groups in the area (I apologize, I don't want to post it publicly), and they're probably one of worst that I've dealt with. I've been fighting with the landlord over this, and he *finally* sent out an electrician to deal with it, but as I wasn't hope, a bunch of work was left undone, including another outlet missing ground. There's also smoke detectors in the basement going off last I checked, and the washer/dryer have been broken for at least six months, and probably closer to a year.

I think I need to get the city involved, because at this point, I'm going a bit mad. I got a PO box from the management office, but its different than the one that Google terms up, and the one on my tenant contract. I think I need to send them actual certified mail before withholding rent, but the process feels tedious and confusing. I work from home, and well, I really just want it fixed.

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fossfirefighter OP t1_j8djdva wrote

Replying to viniciusah (#1,796,864)

I saw this earlier; thank you. I was going to file this right before I got shocked because it was reaching the point that I needed to. The problem is I haven't super documented it well, but I'll leave this printed out.

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I'll send things as email and certified mail next.

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viniciusah t1_j8dk2pi wrote

Replying to fossfirefighter (#1,796,952)

Lesson learned. ANY problem with a rental = written communication to owner. SMS/email should suffice in the beginning. Certified mail as an escalation.

Considering what you described, it won't hurt to contact tenant relations and hear what they have to say.

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DontBeEvil1 t1_j8dxrnb wrote

Doesn't sound like you were electrocuted. That aside, contact the Housing Authority and file a complaint.

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Cuprunnethover2022 t1_j8e0gn4 wrote

If you file a complaint you should also get ready to move....your crappy landlord will probably retaliate at lease renewal time.

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fossfirefighter OP t1_j8e4fgt wrote

Replying to DontBeEvil1 (#1,797,877)

Happened last Wednesday, afterwhich I called 911, and was checked out with an irregular but otherwise strong heartbeat. As I have no pre-existing conditions, I didn't opt to be transported, but I've had ongoing pain on my left arm and leg.

The outlets had no ground connection, so I became part of the circuit. The landlord made some repairs, they just refuse to finish it.

I'll contact the HA.

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glo46 t1_j8eaqe7 wrote

I know it's always easier said than then done, but you've been an apartment for two years knowing you could get seriously injured... I'd suggest looking for another place to live.

Yeah, you shouldn't have to, but there are probably other apartments out there in your price range that won't possibly end your life.

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Blecher_onthe_Hudson t1_j8eb1b3 wrote

No doubt something happened to you, but I think your understanding of household electricity is lacking. Under normal operation no device will shock you simply due to lack of ground. The only scenario in which you could blame the lack of ground is if the device had a defect or failure and had a short to it's frame, and the frame should have been grounded but wasn't and so became energized without tripping the breaker.

As someone commented, a GFCI circuit protector would likely have prevented this event, current code for new construction required GFCI and AFCI protection on nearly every circuit. This drives up the cost of typical home by at least $2000-3000.

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fossfirefighter OP t1_j8ecj5d wrote

Replying to glo46 (#1,798,668)

I didn't know it was that bad. The problem was the wiring tripped on several times on normal usage, but the landlord said the breaker was fine, and I just gave up, because I couldn't prove otherwise until I got shocked.

Then the electrician explained what happened.

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fossfirefighter OP t1_j8ecpsm wrote

Replying to Blecher_onthe_Hudson (#1,798,684)

The problem was three prong outlet, ground was physically not connected, and there was a short that the electrician resolved. There are more outlets with that problem now that I've examined them, I didn't know ground was floating before hand.

I'm not an electrical expert, but I do get the basics.

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Blecher_onthe_Hudson t1_j8egw0j wrote

Replying to fossfirefighter (#1,798,796)

>there was a short that the electrician resolved.

A short in the outlet box or in the device plugged in? You're not being clear. It's perfectly legal under 'grandfathered code" to have an ungrounded outlet, what's illegal is to put a 3 prong receptacle there that is ungrounded.

Where a lot of confusion arises is whether the metal clad cable is legal to use as ground. The problem is the older cable is not, it does not have the bonding strip inside that later AC cable does. But some people will use the metal box/cable as ground anyway. It will show as properly grounded on a tester, but certain circumstances can fail to conduct enough current to trip the breaker.

A partial solution is to add GFCI receptacles to ungrounded outlets. Not perfect, but safer.

https://ask-the-electrician.com/installing-a-gfci-outlet-without-a-ground-wire/gfi-gfci/wiring-gfi-outlets/

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pixel_of_moral_decay t1_j8f26ru wrote

Replying to Blecher_onthe_Hudson (#1,799,073)

This is all absolutely correct.

Last I checked MCC cable can be used as ground and if it was installed to code (no gaps and securely clamped to the boxes) should operate as such. I personally put ground pigtails in boxes to outlets/switches for added protection since paint on the outer part of boxes can act as an insulator. I don’t trust the contact a device will have with the box as grounding in these cases, and for $10 I don’t see why I would. Still gfci anywhere I think it can be handy, I go beyond code. I have one near my desk for example where I handle electric devices more commonly.

This sounds like the classic “I wanna break my lease but need a reason so I don’t have to pay” scheme.

They even make online gfci adapters if you want to protect a device and not change the outlet (for renters).

I’d wager 1/4 of apartments in NYC have no grounding on most of their outlets due to being older buildings. It’s hardly uncommon.

And most people will never experience a fault that actually triggers this scenario. Especially with modern day devices.

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Blecher_onthe_Hudson t1_j8f8wl4 wrote

Replying to pixel_of_moral_decay (#1,800,486)

>This is all absolutely correct.

Haha, I love to see those words! Just to clarify for the crowd since obviously it's easy for unversed folks to get confused, you referred to 'MCC', meaning "metal clad cable". But there's at least 3 varieties we encounter.

1: Old steel armored cable, frequently called BX, though that was a brand name. It has no bonding strip and therefore is not legal to use as ground. Obviously not on the market anymore

2: 'AC cable', an industry term for steel armored cable with the bonding strip making it legal for grounding use

3: 'MC cable' armored in aluminum, which would make it not legal for grounding, so it comes with a green wire for ground, unlike AC. So a 12-2 MC cable has 3 conductors, black, white and green, same as a Romex (again name brand) or NM (non-metallic) cable

>I personally put ground pigtails in boxes to outlets/switches for added protection since paint on the outer part of boxes can act as an insulator. I don’t trust the contact a device will have with the box as grounding in these cases, and for $10 I don’t see why I would.

Better electricians pigtail everything, so if there's a receptacle failure it doesn't break the continuity, especially of the neutral, to the downstream boxes. Wago type push in connectors beat the hell out of wire nuts for this, and everything.

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glo46 t1_j8fdm46 wrote

Replying to fossfirefighter (#1,798,784)

Not that it matters in any way whatsoever, but what item did you come in contact with that actually shocked you? Was it coming in contact with the outlet piece itself or was it touching an item that was plugged into the outlet?

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soph0nax t1_j8fk3wk wrote

Replying to fossfirefighter (#1,798,796)

3-prong outlets without the ground-wire connected are VERY common in older buildings and completely up to code as long as the outlet is clearly labelled as lacking a ground (usually done with a sticker). If you truly suspect grounding to be a legitimate issue, the correct course of action would be to request the outlet be replaced with a GFCI outlet which will pop the moment a short circuit condition exists - but this outlet will also need to be clearly labelled as lacking a ground.

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soph0nax t1_j8fki93 wrote

Replying to fossfirefighter (#1,798,293)

Based on everything you're saying - even with a ground connection in the circuit you still would have been shocked (not electrocuted). If current was able to enter your body something aside from the lack of a ground in the outlet was at fault, and the electricity would have found the shortest path to ground - which would have still been thru your body.

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fossfirefighter OP t1_j8hmu7h wrote

Replying to glo46 (#1,801,191)

>I didn't know it was that bad. The problem was the wiring tripped on several times on normal usage, but the landlord said the breaker was fine, and I just gave up, because I couldn't prove otherwise until I got shocked.Then the electrician explained what happened.

Touching the extension cord plugged into the outlet. I think the effect was much closer to like touching a live broadcast antenna, since the whole thing was shorted. I didn't take good before pictures, bt there's still a broken outlet in my apartment.

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