In this case, McPadden said the fact that investigators from Charter Oak Fire Insurance Co., the carrier for employer CJ Fucci Inc. in New Haven, found nothing suspicious after five days of surveillance on Kelley helped her seal the deal.

"If they think you are not credible, private detectives will watch you for a period of time to see if you are doing things inconsistent with the claimed injury," said McPadden, a partner with Forrest McPadden in Wethersfield. "Their tracking showed a hyper guy who could not do much of anything. He wasn't lifting anything, wasn't bending over and wasn't doing things like lifting heavy groceries. The surveillance was consistent with his claims at deposition that he had a lot of difficulty with his right arm and right shoulder."

McPadden said if the surveillance had showed Kelley lifting or bending or doing something inconsistent with his injuries, that could have "been problematic" and might have delayed or even ended the claim for workers' compensation benefits.

McPadden said she finalized the one lump sum of $240,000 for Kelley late Wednesday afternoon.

Kelley suffered a traumatic brain injury as well as injuries to his head, left knee, back, neck, right shoulder, eyes, right hip, and left ankle after he was pulled from a manhole that was about to be covered with water after a mishap caused the water to overflow. "He practically drowned in that manhole," McPadden said.

McPadden said Kelley, a 47-year-old Torrington resident, believes he sustained the traumatic brain injury because he banged his head when coming out of the manhole.

McPadden said the biggest pushback from the insurance carrier was that Kelley's workers' compensation carrier through his former employer had compensated about $350,000 soon after the incident in Danbury in 2016.

"It was their position, for awhile, that he was already compensated for his physical injuries. We were able to convince them that there was some physical risk that had not been compensated for, as well as the brain injury. Our position was that the brain injury, especially, was likely to require a much larger payment," McPadden said.

McPadden said doctors, psychologists and psychiatrists supported the traumatic brain injury diagnosis.

Representing the insurance carrier is attorney Gerald Davino II of Testan Law in Rocky Hill. Davino didn't respond to requests for comment Thursday.

McPadden said her client has made some progress since the incident four and a half years ago. But "he still has a lot of pain from his right shoulder," she said.

McPadden said Kelley had surgery for a rotator cuff tear on his right shoulder and said another surgery on that shoulder is possible.