City of Littleton, Colorado Littleton Fire Rescue and Ccmsi v. Industrial Claim Appeals Office Julie Christ…

Summary

The court held that the firefighter statute creates a substantive but rebuttable presumption that a qualifying firefighter's listed cancer is employment-related, shifting the burden of persuasion to the employer. The employer may rebut the presumption by a preponderance of the medical evidence through proof defeating either general or specific causation, and it need not eliminate every conceivable occupational exposure. Because the administrative law judge's findings were supported by substantial evidence, the court reversed the court of appeals and remanded for reinstatement of the ALJ's original order.