Finalists Announced for Consumer Attorney of the Year

Randy Walton

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The Consumer Attorneys of California (CAOC) have announced the finalists for the award of Consumer Attorney of the Year, an award that recognizes a distinguished injury lawyer who has overcome odds to provide justice to victims. This award will recognize one plaintiff's lawyer who has achieved a significant result in a case that was resolved within the 2006/2007 year.

San Diego attorney Denise Asher is the only San Diego lawyer who made the cut. Denise was nominated for a medical malpractice case involving the failure to diagnose invasive squamous cell carcinoma, resulting in fatal spread of cancer and involving a doctor with a checkered Medical Board history. According to the CAOC press release, had the cancer been caught at an early stage, experts said there was a 95 percent chance the 54-year-old man would have recovered. After a four-week trial, a conservative San Diego County Superior Court jury found in favor of the plaintiff, but the amount was significantly reduced because of the 32-year-old Medical Injury Compensation Reform Act (MICRA). Jurors were so upset that their deliberations were ignored that some are now meeting with legislators as part of CAOC's efforts to educate them about the horrendous impact of MICRA.

Denise is a well-known fighter for justice here in San Diego, and we at Walton Barber are pulling for her to win the big prize. She deserves it.