Sunny Acres Villa, Inc. v. Cooper

Sunny Acres Villa, Inc., the employer in the underlying action for permanent total disability benefits, sought review of the court of appeals' decision in Cooper v. Industrial Claim Appeals Office, 998 P.2d 5 (Colo.App.1999), by writ of certiorari. The court of appeals set aside the order of an administrative law judge ("ALJ"), which denied permanent total disability ("PTD") benefits to claimant Charla Cooper on the ground that her injuries were not substantially work-related. The court of appeals held instead that the doctrine of collateral estoppel operated to foreclose any inquiry into…