Anytime a truck collides with a smaller passenger vehicle, significant personal injuries can result due to the disparity in size between the two kinds of vehicles. However, certain types of crashes involving trucks, such as jackknife truck accidents in Summerlin, have the potential to cause even more harm because they can injure the occupants of multiple vehicles at the same time.
If you or a close family member is reeling from the effects of a jackknife collision, you should consider consulting with a local Summerlin truck accident lawyer at Shook & Stone. They could help you review your legal options to seek fair compensation for your losses.
Understanding Jackknife Truck Accidents
According to our Summerlin personal injury lawyers, jackknife accidents happen with semi-trucks that have cabs and attached trailers. A jackknife occurs when a big rig’s cab slows or comes to a full stop, but the trailer continues in motion, folding to the side of the cab. The skidding trailer can move forward until it hits something, such as another vehicle or barrier, or stops. The accident is called a jackknife because the folded trailer and cab create the shape of a V or a right angle, which resembles a pocketknife. If the trailer skids out of control on a busy highway, it can slide across several lanes of traffic, slamming into and crushing smaller vehicles and forcing them to slide into other cars, often resulting in a multi-vehicle pileup. Jackknifes can also cause a truck to roll over.
Because trucks weigh so much more, they hit smaller vehicles with immense force. The occupants of the crushed vehicles can experience life-threatening injuries, such as brain injuries, broken bones, internal organ damage, and spine injuries. Some survivors of jackknifing collisions experience debilitating pain, permanent mobility, or other limitations that can interfere with their everyday lives.
Our Summerlin lawyers understand how traumatic jackknife accidents can be and could work closely with you and your family to ensure you have the financial compensation you need to gain access to the best possible medical care and assistance.
Causes of Jackknife Tractor-Trailer Collisions
Trucks get into jackknife accidents when either the cab or trailer loses traction. Most jackknifes occur due to someone’s negligence in operating or loading the cargo on the truck. Some of the most common causes of jackknife accidents in Summerlin, Rhodes Ranch, Sovana, and Sun City are:
- Overweight trailers
- Taking turns that are too sharp
- Impaired driving from alcohol, drugs, or drowsiness
- Mechanical failures due to lack of maintenance of the truck or defective parts
- Unbalanced cargo, causing a truck to veer to one side: Having an empty trailer can also make a truck more unstable.
- Inexperienced truck driver: Trucking companies should hire experienced drivers and provide adequate training on safely handling large commercial vehicles.
- Poor weather conditions: When an accident occurs because of bad weather, the truck driver or trucking company could be responsible for choosing to drive in unsafe weather.
- Abrupt braking, especially after a truck driver has been speeding: Gradual braking is the best way to avoid a jackknife, but gradual braking is not possible if a trucker is going too fast and does not leave enough distance between them and the car in front of them.
Our dedicated legal team could carefully examine the details of your crash to learn why it happened and who is to blame.
Contact a Summerlin Attorney After a Jackknife Trucking Crash
Jackknife truck accidents in Summerlin are terrifying and can leave you feeling overwhelmed and lost. In addition to your physical injuries, you might be dealing with emotional pain and financial bills.
Contact a trusted attorney at Shook & Stone who could help you better understand your legal rights. Let them fight on your behalf.
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