Forest snow. Photo: Lyubov Matveeva/Shutterstock.com

The attorney for a 44-year-old Wethersfield man who was injured on the job and then developed a rare neurological condition has settled a workers' compensation claim for $794,500.

In a case that came down to showing that plaintiff Ramesh Hiraprashad's injuries were getting progressively worse over time, Hiraprashad's attorney presented medical reports indicating his client would not be getting better.

Lawyer Alexander Sarris, an associate with Hartford-based Cicchiello & Cicchiello, said doctors showed that his client had developed a rare neurological condition called Complex Regional Pain Syndrome. The syndrome, Sarris said, affects some people after a traumatic injury. Patients can develop nerve damage, swelling and a change of skin color, and excruciating pain.

"It was a challenge convincing the insurance company that a fairly innocuous type of injury could lead to a catastrophic injury," Sarris said of defendant CNA Financial Insurance Co. "It was hard to wrap your head around how such a fall could lead to such catastrophic consequences. We had to get a lot of expert opinions, and we did just that."

Hiraprashad injured his right arm, elbow and hand while working on the job as a survey field technician for Cheshire-based Milone & MacBroom Inc., a civil engineering and landscape architecture business.

Hiraprashad inadvertently stepped into a three-foot hole covered in a foot of snow in a wooded area in Connecticut in February 2016, his lawyer said. He used his right hand and right side of his body to brace himself as he fell, Sarris said.

Sarris and Zack Delaney, the attorney for both the company and the insurance company, came to the $794,500 settlement agreement on Dec. 10, following several negotiations. The money will be provided to Hiraprashad in one lump payment before the end of the year, Sarris said.

Delaney, an attorney with Pomeranz Drayton & Stabnick in Glastonbury, declined to comment on Friday.

"This was a life-changing event and the final settlement reflected that," Sarris said.

Sarris said his client's medical condition has severely limited what he can and can't do.

"He used to love to ride motorcycles, but now can't do that," Sarris said. "He also has great difficulty with activities of daily life like getting dressed, cleaning up around the house, and cooking. He essentially is limited to just one hand."

Because of his injuries, Hiraprashad has not worked since the incident, Sarris said.

Complex Regional Pain Syndrome, according to the National Organization for Rare Disorders, affects five people out of every 100,000 people in the United States.

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