A 69-year-old Bristol man secured a $390,000 workers' compensation settlement with his former employer after he reinjured his back while carrying steel.

Jerold Colwell's back pain returned May 2016, 11 years after his first injury at work, according to his attorney, Alexander Sarris, an associate with Hartford's Cicchiello & Cicchiello.

Sarris said Colwell was carrying steel for the New Haven-based New England Linen Supply Co., a manufacturing and textile business, both times he was injured. He had worked for the company for about 20 years until the injury forced him to leave the job in 2016, according to Sarris.

For Sarris, the biggest obstacle was linking the second injury to the first.

“Anytime there is a lengthy period … between workers' compensation claims, it's harder to prove they are related, especially if there is a flare-up,” Sarris said Thursday.

Colwell had back surgery in 2006, soon after his initial injury. He got a $45,000 payment on that workers' compensation claim.

But an MRI taken 10 years later showed his lumbar spine was getting worse.

“At that point, both sides engaged in settlement discussions,” Sarris said.

The parties negotiated for several months before agreeing on the $390,000 settlement April 2.

New England Linen Supply's attorney was Brian Smith, of Pomeranz, Drayton & Stabnick in Glastonbury. He pushed to settle for less than $300,000, but the plaintiff sought “something in the upper $300,000 range.”

Smith was on vacation and unavailable for comment by deadline.

“We were able to work it out amicably among ourselves without a mediator,” Sarris said.

The bulk of the settlement—$295,000—will go to a Medicare set-aside fund, which Colwell can only use for future medical expenses. The remaining $95,000 has no strings attached.

Sarris says Colwell will likely need another back surgery.

New England Linen Supply's insurer, Fireman's Fund Insurance Co., will cover the settlement.

Colwell “had a very legitimate injury, and it's nice to see him being compensated for that,” Sarris said. “My client was very relieved. It was a long process for him.”