MONTEREY, California, Dec. 18, 2018 /PRNewswire/ — According to a recent report from State Farm insurance, Californians are the most likely individuals to experience dog bites when compared to residents of other states. Based on data from the Information Insurance Institute (III), these dog bite injuries cost homeowners’ insurers a total of $686 million in 2017, contributing to higher premiums for homeowners.

Two recent dog bite incidents in California illustrate the impact that dog bites have, not only on homeowners’ insurance policies, but also to the victims that suffer these attacks. In both of these incidents, the same dog, dog owner, and homeowner insurance policy were involved. 

The dog, a Belgian Malinois known to have a bite force of more than 195 psi, attacked two women, Laurie Rice and Diana Fink. In each of the two separate incidents, neither woman had provoked the dog to attack. As a result of these events in which the dog owner was unable to control his dog, his homeowner insurance policy paid $2,000,000 in settlements, paying $1,000,000 to each of the two women injured.

In addition, the dog owner, George A. Guevara, was charged with criminal felony charges of assault with a deadly weapon (the dog), of brandishing a weapon, and of battery. Guevara, who had previous convictions related to rolling back the odometers of vehicles at his car dealership, attempted to have the dog assault a bar patron with whom he had had a fight. Instead, Guevara lost control of his dog which then actively attacked Fink, an innocent bystander to the altercation. As a result of these attacks, Guevara was convicted of the felony charge of brandishing the dog as a weapon and battery, and the dog was later destroyed. Fink, a bartender and a volunteer helping veterans and the homeless, had both her livelihood and volunteer activities impacted by the bite and attack to her forearm.

According to both victims, represented by Dunnion Law, a Monterey-based firm that has recovered seven-figure settlements for dog bite victims and won one of California’s largest dog attack settlements ($8,000,000), neither of them expected the dog attack, nor the end result that Dunnion Law obtained.

“The misuse of this dog has permanently affected these women, leaving them with both physical and psychological scars that will never fully heal,” said Connell Dunnion, CEO and owner of Dunnion Law. “Unfortunately, the dog owner put others at risk, and the dog, the insurers, and the victims, in particular, are left to deal with the final consequences.”

As incidents of dog bites continue to increase in California, it is important for dog owners to train their pets responsibly, and for victims to learn about the legal options available to them when they’ve been bitten.

With more than 42 years practicing personal injury law, Dunnion Law, headquartered in Monterey, CA, provides legal representation for victims of personal injury, including auto accidents, dog bites and catastrophic injury. For more information about Dunnion Law, please contact our office at 831.373.8035, or email to [email protected].

(Docket # MSC17-00265)

SOURCE Dunnion Law

MIAMI, Dec. 19, 2018 /PRNewswire-HISPANIC PR WIRE/ — Avaya Holdings Corp. (NYSE: AVYA) announced that its DACAS distributor expands services in the Latin American market and makes available Avaya solutions for companies of all sizes and industries. DACAS will now provide its services in Ecuador, Venezuela, Central America, the English Caribbean and Spanish.

Avaya offers one of the most complete portfolios of Unified Communications solutions, software and services for companies that are embracing digital transformation today. Companies continue to invest and improve their engagement solutions with both the client and work teams, for large companies and medium market, as well as services based on the private, public and hybrid cloud and on demand.

Since its association with Avaya in 2015, DACAS distributes security solutions, Infrastructure and Unified Communications. Now, under the new work scheme, they will also be participating in the distribution of solutions for Contact Centers, SMEs, telephony, and devices and Avaya Equinox Meetings Online. The new countries add to the services already available in the Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Paraguay, Peru and Uruguay.

“Since we started distributing Avaya solutions in 2015, we confirmed that Avaya is one of the brands that integrators seek to offer to the market,” said Diego Cascata, president of Dacas. “We look for ways to provide our business partners with top-tier solutions they can develop in their markets and get excellent results maximizing their operations. In this goal we feel aligned with AVAYA, to achieve clients’ total satisfaction. In Dacas we are pleased to incorporate the regions of the Caribbean, Central America, Ecuador and Venezuela. He added: “This represents a great opportunity because of the importance and scale of these markets in our hemisphere.” 

“Our partners and distributors are a fundamental piece to the success of Avaya and our customers and we continue to invest in our community of business partners and distributors,” said Santiago Aguirre, senior director of channels and distribution, Avaya, Americas International. “For us, it is a privilege to have a business partner and distributor who understands company needs specific to the region with high knowledge and value offer especially in the areas of security, infrastructure and Unified Communications. We have modernized and improved our channel program to reflect the transformation of Avaya and help our business partners to take full advantage of the new opportunities offered by the current market.”

Currently, Avaya has four regional distributors: Anixter, Techdata, Scansource and DACAS, thus covering the needs of its business partners ecosystem in all industries, especially those in the areas of health, government, education, manufacturing and hospitality.  Avaya and its authorized distributors are prepared to offer the solutions, training, programs and resources that companies need to do more business and exceed the expectations of their customers.

About Avaya
Businesses are built on the experiences they provide, and every day millions of those experiences are built by Avaya (NYSE: AVYA). For over one hundred years, we’ve enabled organizations around the globe to win – by creating intelligent communications experiences for customers and employees. Avaya builds open, converged and innovative solutions to enhance and simplify communications and collaboration – in the cloud, on-premise or a hybrid of both. To grow your business, we’re committed to innovation, partnership, and a relentless focus on what’s next. We’re the technology company you trust to help you deliver Experiences that Matter. Visit us at www.avaya.com.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
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SOURCE Avaya