Founder, Bagen Law Accident Injury Lawyers, P.A.

Steven A. Bagen represents people hurt in car, truck, and motorcycle crashes across North Central Florida, guiding injured clients and grieving families through the insurance claim and court process from the firm’s offices in Gainesville, Ocala, and Daytona Beach. He founded Bagen Law Accident Injury Lawyers, P.A. and has spent his career on a single kind of work: holding negligent drivers, trucking companies, property owners, and their insurers accountable for the harm they cause.

Under his direction, the firm has represented injured Floridians from Gainesville and Ocala out to the smaller communities along Highway 441.

Practice at a Glance

• Focus: Personal injury and wrongful death, handled exclusively throughout his career
• Firm role: Founder and administrator, directing the attorneys and staff who work each client’s case

A Career Representing Injured Floridians

Steven Bagen built his practice on injury work and never diversified away from it. That focus has given the firm extensive experience in the kinds of cases that define serious personal injury practice: high-speed interstate collisions, commercial trucking wrecks, motorcycle crashes with catastrophic injuries, and claims brought on behalf of families after a wrongful death.

Representative cases the firm reports include a recovery for a woman struck from behind while slowing for traffic on Interstate 75, a recovery in a case where a semi-truck crossed into oncoming traffic and set off a chain collision, a recovery in a dump-truck case involving a mechanical failure of the truck’s bed, and a confidential settlement for a motorcyclist who lost a leg in a crash. Results like these come from preparing each file as though it will be tried, then negotiating from a position of readiness rather than hope. Results may vary. Prior case outcomes do not guarantee similar results.

Steven built the firm around the motto Fighting For Florida’s Injured®, representing clients from every walk of life in claims against large insurers and corporate defendants.

Experience matters because insurance carriers track which firms actually take cases to trial and which settle at a discount to avoid a courtroom. Steven has spent his career on the first side of that line. He works up liability, damages, and medical proof early, retains the accident-reconstruction and medical professionals a serious case demands, and keeps a file trial-ready so the defense has a reason to pay full value rather than gamble on a verdict.

Working Directly With Clients

Injured clients at the firm deal with a founding attorney, not a rotating cast of case handlers. Steven and his team keep clients informed at each stage, from the first medical treatment through the demand, negotiation, and, when needed, filing suit.

Because a Florida injury claim runs on strict deadlines and heavy documentation, he sets expectations honestly about timelines, the strength of the evidence, and what a fair recovery looks like given the facts and the available insurance coverage. Clients across North Central Florida return to the firm and refer family and friends because of that steady, direct approach.

Where Steven Bagen Handles Cases

The firm’s offices give Steven and his team a working presence across the major trial venues of North Central and East Central Florida. Gainesville cases fall in Alachua County, tried in the Eighth Judicial Circuit. Ocala cases sit in Marion County, part of the Fifth Judicial Circuit.

Daytona Beach cases are heard in Volusia County, within the Seventh Judicial Circuit. The firm serves injured clients throughout these circuits, from Gainesville neighborhoods such as Haile Plantation, Duckpond, and Tioga to Ocala communities such as On Top of the World and Silver Springs Shores. Familiarity with the local courts, judges, and insurance-defense practices shapes how the firm values every claim.

How Steven Bagen Approaches a Florida Injury Claim

Florida law sets firm boundaries on injury cases, and Steven builds each claim around them from day one. Under Florida Statute § 95.11, most negligence claims that accrued on or after March 24, 2023 must be filed within two years, a window shortened by the 2023 tort reform law that replaced the prior four-year period. Missing that deadline generally ends a case before it starts, so Steven moves quickly to preserve evidence, secure crash and incident reports, and put insurers on notice.

Florida also follows a modified comparative negligence rule under Florida Statute § 768.81. A plaintiff found more than 50 percent at fault recovers nothing, and any recovery is reduced by the plaintiff’s share of fault. Because insurers routinely try to shift blame onto the injured person, Steven documents liability thoroughly and pushes back hard on inflated fault arguments.

In cases where a crash or unsafe condition takes a life, he brings claims for surviving family members under the Florida Wrongful Death Act, Florida Statutes §§ 768.16 through 768.26, which governs who may recover and for what losses. Grounding each case in these rules is how the firm protects a client’s right to full compensation.

Practice Focus

Steven concentrates his practice on motor vehicle and premises injury claims, the areas where the firm focuses its work. He regularly handles Gainesville car accident cases, along with truck accident, motorcycle accident, and wrongful death claims, as well as slip and fall and other premises liability matters.

Clients who come to him for personal injury representation across Gainesville work directly with a founding attorney who has spent his entire career on this one field of law. His son, Kyle J. Bagen, practices alongside him in the firm’s litigation department.

Frequently Asked Questions: Steven A. Bagen

How long does a Florida personal injury case usually take to resolve?

The timeline depends on how serious the injuries are, whether the other side disputes fault, and whether the insurer negotiates in good faith. A clear-cut claim can settle within a few months once medical treatment is complete, while a case involving severe injuries, several parties, or a filed lawsuit can run a year or longer. Steven does not push a client to settle before the full extent of their injuries is known, since settling too early often means accepting far less than a claim is worth.

Are there any upfront costs to hire Bagen Law Accident Injury Lawyers?

There are no upfront costs. The firm works on a contingency fee, so there is no retainer and no hourly billing. Case expenses such as court filing fees, witness fees for outside professionals, and the cost of obtaining medical and accident records are advanced by the firm and repaid from the recovery at the end of the case.

How soon do I need to see a doctor after a car accident in Florida?

Florida’s personal injury protection (PIP) law requires injured people to get initial medical care within 14 days after a motor vehicle accident to use their PIP medical benefits. Under Florida Statute § 627.736, PIP covers 80 percent of reasonable, medically necessary care within a $10,000 limit, and that coverage drops to $2,500 if a qualified provider finds no emergency medical condition. Prompt treatment also creates a medical record that ties the injuries to the crash.

Can I recover pain and suffering damages after a Florida car accident?

Florida lets a person hurt in a car accident recover pain and suffering damages from the at-fault driver only when the injury meets a threshold in Florida Statute § 627.737. The injury must involve a significant and permanent loss of an important bodily function, a permanent injury within a reasonable degree of medical probability, significant and permanent scarring or disfigurement, or death. Whether an injury meets that threshold turns on the medical evidence, so Steven’s team works up that proof early.

Do I have to wear a helmet on a motorcycle in Florida?

Florida Statute § 316.211 lets motorcycle riders over 21 ride without a helmet only if they carry an insurance policy with at least $10,000 in medical benefits for crash injuries. Riders 21 and younger must wear a helmet, apart from a narrow exception for low-power motorcycles, and every motorcycle operator must wear eye protection. Riding without a helmet does not by itself bar an injury claim, but an insurer may argue it made the injuries worse, which can reduce a recovery under Florida’s comparative fault rule.

Where are Bagen Law Accident Injury Lawyers’ offices?

Bagen Law Accident Injury Lawyers meets clients in Gainesville at 6241 NW 23rd Street, Suite 300, and 111 SE 1st Ave, Suite 150; in Ocala at 1521 S Pine Avenue; and in Daytona Beach at 128 Orange Ave, Suite 227. The firm is available 24/7 at 800-800-2575.

Talk With Bagen Law Accident Injury Lawyers About Your Case

If a crash or a preventable injury has upended your life, you do not have to sort out the insurance company’s tactics on your own. Call Bagen Law Accident Injury Lawyers 24/7 at 800-800-2575, or schedule a consultation to review what happened, explain your options under Florida law, and start protecting your claim. The consultation is free.