Contrary to city codes, no safety fencing was in place when an 8-year-old Lawrence boy was injured in an Aug. 13 fall at New York Elementary. It has since been installed.

Two days after a lawsuit accused the Lawrence Public School District and an area construction company of negligence, a settlement has been proposed in the case of an 8-year-old boy who was injured while New York Elementary School was under renovation.

However, exactly how much the defendants have offered to pay to settle the case remains obscured.

On Nov. 8 the Trust Company of Lawrence filed a civil lawsuit on behalf of Max McGill, who suffered collapsed lungs, a broken nose, a broken collarbone and rib after a 350 pound gate fell on top of him in August 2015 at the New York Elementary School construction site at 936 New York St.

McGill had wandered onto the site while under a babysitter’s supervision, police said.

An aerial view shows the construction site at New York Elementary School on Tuesday, Aug. 18, 2015.

The school was under construction as a part of a $92.5 million bond issue involving the renovation of 20 schools and building of the College and Career Center.

The Trust Company’s lawsuit names the school district, Bucyrus-based Combes Construction and the legal guardians of the babysitter, who is a minor, as defendants.

According to the lawsuit’s civil complaint, the school district and Combes Construction created a “hazardous condition” at the site and failed to “properly supervise and train” the construction company’s employees.

At the same time the babysitter — identified only through the initials B.M. — failed to “properly supervise” McGill while he was on the property, the complaint says.

For his injuries, medical expenses and suffering, the lawsuit asked for at least $75,000 in damages.

A representative from Combes Construction did not return a phone call seeking comment for this story.

David Cunningham, executive director of human resources and legal counsel for the School District said in a written response “the district did not contribute to the financial settlement reached by the parties, but as a party, will be released from any and all liability once the settlement is approved by the court.”

Tim Riling, the attorney representing the Trust Company, said the construction site was not properly fenced off, which allowed McGill to wander into the area and climb on pieces of equipment.

Precisely what happened is unclear, Riling said, because nobody saw McGill enter the construction site.

What is clear, however, is that one of several heavy gates, situated upright, fell on McGill, Riling said.

“The gates were leaned up against a wall and they should have been placed down on the ground,” he said.

“When the father got on the scene (McGill) was just in a pool of blood,” Riling added.

Those very gates were also mentioned by Scott Besler, a supervisor at the site who quit over safety concerns.

Besler was not a regular employee of Combes Construction and was hired specifically to supervise work at the school, Riling said.

The heavy gates were supposed to be installed about eight months before McGill was injured, Besler said last September. However, work at the site was constantly behind schedule, he said.

Exhausted and stressed by safety violations, Besler said he quit his position in January 2015.

And while construction crews put up protective fencing around the site about a week after McGill was injured, questions of the area’s security remained.

Bryan Jeffrey was part of a crew erecting a construction fence around New York Elementary School, the site of a major expansion and renovation project. Neighbors around the school have expressed concern about safety in the area since an 8-year-old boy was injured at the site. Students returned to school for the start of the new year Wednesday.

One East Lawrence resident went so far as to film himself entering the site after the fencing was set up, to show district officials the area was still dangerous.

After learning of McGill’s injuries the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration sent an inspector to the site to examine any potential safety issues.

According to OSHA’s website, the case was listed as closed in October 2015. However the results of the inspection are not available online and an OSHA representative did not return calls seeking a copy of the report.

Two days after the civil lawsuit was filed, Douglas County District Court records show a hearing was scheduled for Friday regarding a “friendly settlement.”

Citing privacy issues with respect to McGill’s age, Riling would not say who the settlement offer came from or how much they’re offering.

He did say, however, that because McGill is a minor, a judge must OK the settlement offer before anything is finalized.

“The court has to approve a settlement,” he said. “The court has to find that it’s in the client’s best interest.”

The lawsuit’s settlement hearing is scheduled for Friday at 10:30 a.m.

Riling said McGill, who is now nine years old, has returned to school since he was injured.