City of Brighton v. Rodriguez

318 P.3d 496 (2014)

From our private database of 46,500+ case briefs, written and edited by humans—never with AI.

City of Brighton v. Rodriguez

Colorado Supreme Court
318 P.3d 496 (2014)

  • Written by Robert Cane, JD

Facts

Helen Rodriguez (plaintiff) worked as a special-events coordinator for the City of Brighton (defendant). Her office was in the basement of city hall. One day, Rodriguez suddenly fell down a flight of concrete stairs on the way back to her office after a chat with Scott Miller and Dennis Williams, her coworkers. The stairs were dry and clear prior to the fall. Rodriguez had not been ill or dizzy before the fall. Miller and Williams both testified that the cause of Rodriguez’s fall was not apparent and that she had been speaking and acting normally just before the fall. When she was taken to the hospital, medical providers discovered that Rodriguez had four unruptured aneurysms in her brain. However, three doctors testified at Rodriguez’s workers’-compensation hearing, and two of the three doctors opined that the aneurysms did not cause Rodriguez’s fall; the other doctor suggested that the fall was caused by the aneurysms. The administrative law judge (ALJ) credited the two doctors who agreed regarding the aneurysms. The ALJ determined that the cause of the fall was unexplained, so Rodriguez’s injuries were not covered by workers’ compensation because she failed to show a causal connection between her injury and her employment. The industrial-claims appeals office affirmed. The court of appeals set aside the appeals-office order, finding that uncertainty as to causation cannot bar a workers’-compensation claim. The city appealed.

Rule of Law

Issue

Holding and Reasoning (Rice, C.J.)

Dissent (Eid, J.)

What to do next…

  1. Unlock this case brief with a free (no-commitment) trial membership of Quimbee.

    You’ll be in good company: Quimbee is one of the most widely used and trusted sites for law students, serving more than 832,000 law students since 2011. Some law schools even subscribe directly to Quimbee for all their law students.

  2. Learn more about Quimbee’s unique (and proven) approach to achieving great grades at law school.

    Quimbee is a company hell-bent on one thing: helping you get an “A” in every course you take in law school, so you can graduate at the top of your class and get a high-paying law job. We’re not just a study aid for law students; we’re the study aid for law students.

Here's why 832,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:

  • Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 46,500 briefs, keyed to 994 casebooks. Top-notch customer support.
  • The right amount of information, includes the facts, issues, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents.
  • Access in your classes, works on your mobile and tablet. Massive library of related video lessons and high quality multiple-choice questions.
  • Easy to use, uniform format for every case brief. Written in plain English, not in legalese. Our briefs summarize and simplify; they don’t just repeat the court’s language.

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership
Here's why 832,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
  • Reliable - written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students
  • The right length and amount of information - includes the facts, issue, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents
  • Access in your class - works on your mobile and tablet
  • 46,500 briefs - keyed to 994 casebooks
  • Uniform format for every case brief
  • Written in plain English - not in legalese and not just repeating the court's language
  • Massive library of related video lessons - and practice questions
  • Top-notch customer support

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership