Residents rally for teacher
Property manager says no safety complaints received
A teacher who fell off a second-story balcony Sunday in downtown Charleston remained in critical condition at Medical University Hospital two days later, as parents and colleagues from her school rallied to help.
The accident at 113 1/2 President St. happened around 3 p.m., when Courtney Harbaugh leaned against a piazza railing to talk to neighbors, a police report says. The railing gave way, sending the 24-year-old to the sidewalk below.
Previous story
Teacher remains critical after fall, published 11/18/08
Since then, parents and colleagues from the Little School at Grace Episcopal Church have been taking cards to the hospital and giving Harbaugh's family members from Columbia a place to stay. On Tuesday morning, they gathered to pray for her.
"She's very engaging, she's very spunky," said Rebecca Martin, director of the school. "We know that she's a real fighter and that she'll pull through."
Harbaugh's job has been teaching 3-year-old pupils basic skills such as the alphabet, numbers and how to use scissors.
Even though she had only 14 students, everybody at the school seemed to know her. Martin said she impressed others with her energy, confidence and maturity.
A company that manages the rental home where the accident occurred said it had not received any safety complaints about the railing, which broke loose from columns that held it in place.
"Any time we have a complaint of a safety issue, we treat it as an emergency," said Rob Infinger, property manager in charge at Central Property Management. "If we would have had a complaint like that, we would have acted on it."
Infinger said the company had been called to make unrelated repairs at the approximately 150-year-old house.
Reach Noah Haglund at 937-5550 or nhaglund@postandcourier.com
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Comments
This article has 12 comment(s)
Posted by Paulie on November 19, 2008 at 7:14 a.m. (Suggest removal)
True, the railing could have been sturdier. Does this mean that every railing in an old house needs reinforced railings so you can lean on them? Every house in downtown Charleston should cancel all rental leases, until there is a massive reinforcement of all porch railings so they can be brought "up to code".
Of course, there will be a massive lawsuit involved ...
Posted by NativeSC on November 19, 2008 at 7:41 a.m. (Suggest removal)
And there should be massive lawsuit. The owner and the property manager have a responsibility that they didn't meet and as a result, this young woman is fighting for her life. And all rental houses should have to be brought up to code. If that's too much of a hardship for the landlords, raise your rent or sell the property and let someone who is willing to do what's right do it. I am not about to feel sorry for a landlord bitching about the costs of maintaining a rental property when they are making money off of it. I hope this poor girl pulls through and that someone lights the property manager and owner up.
Posted by Larz13 on November 19, 2008 at 7:52 a.m. (Suggest removal)
While the lawyers are circling like hawks, the insurance will pay for all damages and injuries. The true test will be if the insurance cancels the policy afterward.
Posted by ms_lady2u on November 19, 2008 at 7:56 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Praying for a speedy recovery for this young lady.
Posted by realman on November 19, 2008 at 8:37 a.m. (Suggest removal)
"Any time we have a complaint of a safety issue, we treat it as an emergency," said Rob Infinger, property manager in charge at Central Property Management. "If we would have had a complaint like that, we would have acted on it."
A little late for that, don't you think, Rob?
Posted by ColdBud on November 19, 2008 at 9:51 a.m. (Suggest removal)
I hope Courtney Harbaugh recovers quickly and completely.
This isn't an issue of the building being "up to code". It's an issue of the building not being maintained properly. The design of the porch met all code requirements; it had just deteriorated over time. Codes are different now than they were when the house was built and most code changes are not retroactive.
Owners are responsible for inspecting and maintaining their property in a safe condition. That is the issue.
Posted by mp123 on November 19, 2008 at 10:37 a.m. (Suggest removal)
I think in the end, we'll find it's an absentee property owner who doesn't maintain the building. Like so many other landlords downtown, these folks just want to make a buck. They have no regard for the safety and comfort of their tenants. I wish Ms. Harbaugh aspeedy recovery.
Posted by halfsheli on November 19, 2008 at 11:37 a.m. (Suggest removal)
It's possible that the landlord did not know the railing was loose. If a tenant does not inform the landlord of problems, how can he/she know? Often landlords are only made aware of problems when rentals are vacant (as tenants fail to notify them), and the owner gets into the property and checks stuff out.
I don't know which is the case here, but, come on. Let's not just assume that someone else is at fault everytime someone gets hurt. Sometimes it truly is an accident or an unfortunate incident. Of course, this paradigm doesn't hail the almighty lawsuit as king, so....
Posted by mademoiselle16 on November 19, 2008 at 12:36 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Perhaps Ms. Harbaugh didn't realize that the railing was loose until she was leaning on it and it broke away. Just a thought, but how often do you go around your homes (rental or not) to make sure that everything is working fine? Usually you don't know that something is broken until it breaks.
Posted by jeg111 on November 19, 2008 at 2:11 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Most property managers are required to inspect their rental property on a regular basis, if for no other reason, to make sure the property is not being abused by the tenant. If this property had been inspected the property management company would have known the railing was faulty. Shame on you Central Management Company and shame on the owner that hired them to manage it.
Posted by yird on November 19, 2008 at 4:40 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Are railings really designed for "leaning on"?
Posted by Girleygirl on November 19, 2008 at 5:05 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I hope for a speedy recovery for this lady as well.
I rent and my landlord does an inspection every 6 months. I also know if something is broke, leaking, or whatever to say something right away.
Some of you all post would have been totally different had this been a baby playing on the porch with her parents and the rail broke when the baby grabbed the rail. The landlord is responsible for fixing this