People v. Saavedra-Rodriguez

We granted certiorari to review the court of appeals’ ruling that a defendant on trial for homicide should have been allowed to present evidence of inadequate medical treatment as the intervening cause of the victim’s death. See People v. Saavedra-Rodriguez, 949 P.2d 86, 88 (Colo.App.1997). The trial court determined that the defendant had not offered sufficient evidence to submit an intervening cause defense to the jury. The court of appeals ordered a new trial. We hold that grossly negligent medical treatment is an intervening cause of death only if the initial wound would probably not have…