Bagen Law Blog

The majority of dog bites that occur around the United States are negotiated between the dog owner, their insurance company and the victim. About 5 million U.S. citizens are bitten annually, but only 16,000 claims are payouts from insurance companies.

The Costs of a Dog Bite
On an average, the cost of medical treatments has increased, but the treatment for dog bites has become exponential. Dog bite victims are no longer seeking treatment from general surgeons, but are going to plastic surgeons. As a result, insurance companies are paying out larger settlements in dog bite cases. These payments are notably cutting into the profits of insurance companies. If a homeowner is known to have dogs, then they are required to sign liability waivers for dog bites. If an owner's dog bites someone and they are off a leash, their premiums will increase or the insurance company can exclude their dog from coverage. As a result, many companies are considering not covering dog bites at all or only covering certain breeds.

Man charged with hit-and-run, a third-degree felony, and then released from the Columbia County jail on $5,000 bond.

How do I know if I am a personal injury victim?

There are two general guidelines to determine if you are a personal injury victim. First, you must have sustained injury to your person or property. The other qualifying factor is that this harm was inflicted by someone other than yourself.

Many personal injury claims slip through the cracks because victims are ignorant to the fact that a personal injury claim does not have to be physical. For example, if you have been assaulted, there does not have to be physical proof; there just must exist sufficient evidence that the assailant intended harm. Furthermore, cases where slander causes emotional distress can also present a valid personal injury case.

Investigators are still looking for the driver that struck a motorcycle and killed the rider in Georgia. It was late Sunday night when Tahj Robinson, 22, was riding his 2011 Suzuki around 10:00 p.m. when he was struck by a 2011 Saturn at the intersection of Canal Road and Golden Isles Parkway.

Dense fog and smoke left for a terrifying and tragic scene on I-75 after ten people died as a result to multiple pile ups.

It was a scene out of a Hollywood horror movie: mangled cars, twisted, burned cars, the sounds of screams and moans that seemed so distant and far away. A fog so thick, that police officers only had to listen to shrieks and calls for help to tend to those who needed help.

The mixture of heavy smoke and fog that clouded the area of south of Gainesville on Interstate 75 is said to have come from a brush fire that was intentionally set nearby. As a result of dense smoke, at least a dozen cars and six tractor-trailers were involved in a pileup where 10 people died.

Gainesville resident Steven R. Camps was caught up in the accident where he and some friends were driving home several hours before dawn. Upon entering the scene, he said, “You could hear cars hitting each other. People were crying. People were screaming. It was crazy,” he said. “If I could give you an idea of what it looked like, I would say it looked like the end of the world.”¹

Kristin Leigh Cruz, 37, of Hawthorne County was severely injured when her small car overturned several times early Friday morning. She was driving a 2005 Volkswagen Golf eastbound on the four lane when she went into the center median and rotated counter clockwise. Her car over turned many times while crossing over westbound lanes. The accident happened at 2:14 a.m on Southeast Hawthorne Rd. east of Alachua County Rd 325. Cruz was taken to Shands at the University of Florida.
Cruz was the only person involved in the accident. She was wearing her seatbelt and alcohol was not a factor reports FHP Trooper Matthew B. Cranston. Luckily she was ok although critically injured.

New details have emerged in a Starke kidnapping case that has left the local community questioning how this could happen?

On Sunday evening, a 9-year-old girl was seriously injured in an ATV car crash when she crashed into the path of an incoming car in Columbia County.