Moncks Corner Jackknife Truck Accident Lawyer

When a massive semi jackknifes across the road, it puts everyone in the vicinity in immense danger, and these life-threatening accidents are often caused by truck driver negligence.

The physical, financial, and emotional losses associated with jackknifed trucks can be difficult to overstate, but an experienced Moncks Corner truck accident lawyer can help.

About Jackknife Accidents in Moncks Corner, SC?

Tractors and their trailers are joined together by hinged coupling devices that allow the two parts to travel together in safe unison. Jackknife crashes refer to a specific kind of truck accident in which the truck’s cab and the trailer fold in upon each other – in a manner similar to a jackknife closing. At this point, the truck driver has clearly lost control of their rig, and the resulting damage tends to be immense.

Common Causes of Jackknife Accidents

Truck drivers are commercial drivers, and therefore are guided by more restrictive laws and conditions. When a trucker gets behind the wheel, they have a serious responsibility to the safety of everyone with whom they share the road, and this includes all the following:

• Taking the condition of the road and the deleterious effects of bad weather on it into careful consideration
• Gauging the angles of curves, the grades of  inclines, and the layouts of exits to ensure they’re prepared to take them safely
• Adjusting their speed to account for their increased stopping distances
• Paying careful attention to their large blind spots and avoiding the need to overcorrect after the fact

Jackknife accidents are often caused by truckers who fail to take factors like these seriously enough.

When a trucker drives too fast to react to wherever they encounter on the road ahead safely, the attempt to hurriedly slow down in response can trip a jackknife accident. The action of jackknifing is the result of the trailer gaining on the cab – leaving it with nowhere to go other than to fold in on it.

Injuries to Drivers Caught in Jackknife Accidents

The injuries that drivers suffer when they are caught in jackknife accidents tend to be considerable and are often life-threatening.

Examples include:

• Concussions and other forms of traumatic brain injuries (TBIs)
• Spinal cord injuries
• Serious burns, cuts, and abrasions
• Broken bones
• Internal injuries, which can include organ damage and internal bleeding
• Soft tissue injuries like whiplash

Who Is Liable When a Truck Jackknifes?

As mentioned, truck drivers are the first line of defense when it comes to safe trucking, and they are often responsible when jackknife crashes happen. Liability, however, generally flows through the trucking company and its insurance provider. This said, however, the trucking company can also be directly responsible – or directly share responsibility – for the accident in question.

Consider the following:

• Trucking companies are responsible for hiring truckers with the necessary commercial driver’s licenses and the experience and skill necessary to handle a big rig safely.
• Trucking companies are responsible for ensuring that their rigs are well-maintained and in safe working conditions. Inferior tires and faulty brakes can factor heavily into jackknife accidents.
• Trucking companies are responsible for not pushing their drivers beyond the hours of service laws. Exhausted truckers are more dangerous truckers.
• Trucking companies are responsible for putting careful maintenance and safety checks into effect and ensuring that their drivers comply with them.
• Trucking companies are responsible for ensuring that they have safe loading protocols in place and that they are followed. Improperly loaded trailers can trip jackknife accidents.

When trucking companies fail to live up to their responsibilities, the risk that truck accidents like jackknife crashes will happen increases significantly.

How Our Attorneys Can Help After a Jackknife Crash

West Law Firm’s focus is helping truck accident victims like you fully recover on their losses in all the following primary ways:

• Gathering and compiling evidence from the scene, eyewitness testimony, the police report, and beyond to build your strongest claim
• Carefully calculating the full range of your losses and ensuring that they are clearly outlined in your truck accident claim
• Handling the insurance company on your behalf – in pursuit of fair compensation that covers your losses in their entirety
• Helping you successfully navigate the path forward toward your fullest recovery
• Keeping your claim moving forward and being well prepared to take the matter to court if the insurance company demonstrates that it is not willing to negotiate in good faith

Turn to an Experienced Moncks Corner Jackknife Truck Accident Lawyer

Jackknife accidents are some of the most dangerous on our roads, and we at West Law Firm Personal Injury Lawyers in Moncks Corner, South Carolina, recognize the gravity of your situation. We are a proud family firm with solid ties to the community that run deep, and E. Mason West is our formidable truck accident lawyer whose keen legal insight guides every claim he handles.

Your claim is important to your future, so please don’t put off contacting us online or calling us at 843-483-8630 for more information about what we can do to help you today.

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