Jackknife truck crashes are happening more often, with the US government finding 1,858 fatal jackknife accidents on US roads in a recent year. A truck driver who causes a jackknife accident can lead to devastating injuries and even death. You should immediately hire a Missouri truck accident attorney if a trucker injured you in a jackknife accident recently. You can receive compensation for your medical bills, pain and suffering, and lost earnings. You also can be compensated if a truck driver’s negligence killed your loved one in a tragic jackknife crash.
What Is A Jackknife Truck Accident?
A truck jackknife accident happens when a tractor-trailer loses control and folds in a way that looks like a jackknife. The trailer swings out at a sharp angle from the cab. This action can cause the cab and trailer to face each other when attached, making it impossible for the truck to move.
Jackknife truck accidents are scary and dangerous because the typical truck weighs up to 80,000 pounds. If the trucker loses control and the rig jackknifes, it can cause many serious accidents, and traffic can be stopped for hours. Jackknife accidents often lead to severe multi-vehicle accidents. Common injuries include severe head trauma, spine injuries, burns, amputations and crush injuries, and broken bones.
Why Do Jackknife Crashes Happen?
Jackknife crashes happen for many reasons, but the basic cause is a loss of control for whatever reason. Most jackknife crashes involve truck driver error, but there can be other causes:
Various Driver Errors
Truckers have a commercial driver’s license, so they must drive with a duty of care higher than regular drivers. However, truck drivers may make serious errors that cause serious crashes, including jackknife accidents.
For example, a trucker may speed, change lanes too fast, or slip in wet or icy conditions. Drivers also can be drunk, drugged, sleepy, or distracted, leading them to swerve or otherwise lose control. These actions can make the trailer swing wide, slam into other vehicles, and potentially block the road.
Brake Or Tire Failure
The truck can have defective brakes or worn tires. A tire may blow, or the brakes can malfunction, causing the truck to lose control in a serious accident. Truckers and their employers must regularly inspect and maintain their rigs. So, a truck accident attorney will review the truck’s maintenance records to look for any improper maintenance that contributed to the jackknife crash.
Lightly-Loaded Trailer
A truck trailer is easier to control when loaded correctly and less likely to skid or swing wide. A lightly loaded trailer is likely to lock the brakes in an emergency, causing the driver to lose control.
Road Defects Or Obstacles
Obstacles in the road or road defects can cause the trucker to lose control and jackknife. For example, a dead animal on the interstate can cause the truck driver to slam on the brakes and swerve instinctively, losing control of the tractor-trailer. Large potholes can also cause the driver to change direction too quickly.
Driver Fatigue
Many serious truck wrecks happen because of trucker fatigue. Truck drivers must follow hours-of-service rules administered by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA). Drivers may only be on the road for so many consecutive hours and so many days in a row before having time off.
Unfortunately, drivers may drive longer than they should, and their employers can encourage them. Pressure may be high to make money and quickly get trucks to their destinations. Driver fatigue leads to driving errors that cause severe and deadly crashes, including tractor-trailer accidents.
Can Jackknife Truck Crashes Be Avoided?
In some cases, yes. Truckers can often prevent these wrecks by careful preparation and safe driving. Truck drivers are held to the highest driving standards, so making errors that lead to jackknife accidents is unacceptable.
Trucker Must Be Skilled
Drivers should understand the care and skill needed to safely pull a trailer weighing up to 40 tons. Maintenance can address many issues that cause jackknife accidents, but high driver skill and knowledge can avoid more accidents.
For instance, suppose a driver slows suddenly in front of the truck driver. The trucker panics, slams his brakes, and loses control, causing the trailer to swing wide and slam into your vehicle. This scenario can often be avoided by ensuring the truck driver maintains a safe distance from the vehicle in front of them.
Proper Braking
Also, losing control of the truck can often be avoided by careful and correct braking. Slamming down the brake pedal in a truck will cause the tires to lock and skid, meaning the driver has no control. Many truck jackknife scenarios can be avoided by maintaining a proper distance from traffic and methodical, slow pumping of the truck’s brakes. Using the truck brakes appropriately requires skill, patience, and presence of mind.
Light Loads
As noted earlier, a jackknife wreck can happen because of a light or imbalanced load. The heavier the trailer, the less likely it is to skid in an emergency. Tires can lose traction when the trailer is too lightly or improperly packed. Also, truck brakes are not made for a light load. The wheels are likelier to lock when the driver brakes hard with a light trailer.
Overall, it’s on the truck driver to drive with the high care and caution required by a CDL holder. The truck driver can be held accountable in a tractor-trailer accident lawsuit if your attorney proves that trucker negligence caused the crash.
What Damages Are Available In a Truck Crash Claim?
Most truck accident claims involve compensation for economic and non-economic damages that include:
- Current and future medical care
- Lost earnings and possibly lost earning capacity for a permanent injury
- Pain and suffering
- Mental anguish
What Are Frequent Jackknife Crash Injuries?
Like most truck crashes, a jackknife crash injury can be minor, moderate, or severe. Unfortunately, some truck wrecks cause death, too. The most common jackknife truck accident injuries are:
- Bone fractures
- Traumatic brain injuries
- Burns
- Cuts, lacerations, and disfigurement
- Amputation and crush injuries
- Spinal cord injuries
- Back injuries
- Soft tissue injuries, including whiplash
- Internal injuries, including organ damage and internal bleeding
See a doctor immediately after any truck accident. This ensures that your health is preserved. Also, you have more legal options if you get immediate medical care. Any delay in care may lead the insurance company to question your claim.
What Is A Truck Jackknife Crash Claim Worth?
Jackknife crashes often cause severe injuries, so it’s understandable to be anxious about what your claim value may be. You can have high medical bills, be out of work, and suffer great pain and suffering, so the more money, the better.
However, truck accident settlements can range between thousands to millions, depending on the case details. You should call an experienced truck accident attorney to have them review your case and offer a rough case value. It can change as the case goes forward, but a seasoned personal injury attorney can usually give you a ballpark estimate.
Also, the size of your jackknife truck crash claim depends on the following variables:
Medical Expenses
Truck crashes often lead to expensive injuries and high medical bills. For example, a traumatic brain injury can lead to millions in medical bills. This will drive up the cost of your care and lead to a higher settlement. Or, if you have a minor injury that heals in two months, the case value will be lower.
A truck accident lawyer will review your jackknife accident claim to understand the full cost of your current and future medical treatments. The settlement may include ongoing care and rehabilitation needed for a severe injury.
Severity Of Injuries
A severe injury with high medical bills has a longer impact on your life than a minor injury. For example, a severe head injury may be permanent and affect the rest of your life. However, a broken foot in a truck crash will heal after a few months. Your settlement will also be higher if you need extensive hospitalization, surgery, and physical therapy.
Lost Earnings
A catastrophic injury from the jackknife truck accident may lead to a loss of income permanently. In that case, you should receive compensation for lost earning capacity. The amount you get in a settlement depends on your previous salary, education, and training.
On the other hand, a minor injury can make you miss a few weeks or months of earnings, but you will eventually work again. This will lead to a smaller settlement.
Liability
Who caused the jackknife accident? Was it the driver, employer, another driver, or something else? There can be several people and parties liable for the crash. Also, your claim value will be reduced if you are partially at fault. The truck driver’s employer can also be partially liable for the trucker’s negligence.
Pain And Suffering
A severe injury can cause terrible pain and suffering, such as burns, an amputation injury, or a crushed leg. You should be fairly compensated for discomfort from the accident injury and treatments. Your doctors will provide your truck crash attorney with documentation about your injuries and pain levels.
Mental Anguish
Suppose you have paralysis from your jackknife truck injury. You will suffer extreme mental and emotional distress from your limitations and inability to live life as you did. You would be entitled to high compensation for mental and emotional anguish. A less severe injury, such as a slipped back disc, will be valued less, even though it is still a major injury.
A critical part of your personal injury attorney’s work is accurately valuing your claim’s value and negotiating for the best settlement. It takes skill, experience, and extensive personnel and financial resources to estimate the value of a severe injury claim. Most non-attorneys don’t know the true value of a serious truck accident injury claim. So, let an experienced truck accident lawyer handle your claim while you recover from your injuries.
Common Truck Crash Myths
A skilled truck crash attorney is the best source for information about your truck accident and injuries. There are many misconceptions online about truck accident claims:
- All truckers are highly trained: Truckers have a CDL but may still have limited training. The demand for truckers is increasing, such as from Amazon, which delivers all over the United States. You can be injured by an inexperienced truck driver who doesn’t know how to avoid a jackknife accident. A truck accident lawyer can demand the driver’s training records to determine if improper training was a factor.
- Trucking companies admit fault for accidents they cause: Not necessarily. The trucking company doesn’t want to pay claims it doesn’t need to pay. The insurance company may deny your claim or not fairly evaluate it. You should retain a personal injury attorney to pressure the truck company to pay you fairly.
- Rest periods for drivers are enforced strictly: HOS rules require drivers to rest after approximately 10 or 11 hours of driving. But some drivers and companies flout the rules. Your attorney will review the trucker’s driving log to discover if they drove too many hours.
- You can settle a truck accident claim fairly without legal assistance: You’re virtually always better off with a truck accident attorney negotiating your settlement. What seems like a fair offer from the insurance company probably isn’t. The insurance adjuster may pay your medical bills but offer nothing for pain and suffering or lost earnings. Your attorney can do better.
Contact A Jackknife Truck Accident Attorney Now
A jackknifed truck can trigger a devastating, multi-vehicle accident that injures or kills innocent people. You may have severe injuries and a destroyed vehicle, so speak to a car accident attorney immediately. An attorney may file a personal injury lawsuit against the driver and truck company and demand fair compensation for your losses. Contact a Missouri personal injury lawyer today in your city.
A truck accident attorney is paid by contingency agreement. They do not charge you upfront legal fees, so you will not pay out of pocket. You only pay if the attorney wins your case, too.
