Orange County Jackknife Accident Attorneys
Did You Suffer Serious Injury Due to a Commercial Truck?
Any truck accident can be catastrophic, due to the sheer size and weight of a tractor trailer. A fully-loaded 18-wheeler can weigh up to 80,000 lbs. Jackknife accidents have the potential to cause extensive destruction, including multi-vehicle pileups that cause extensive property damage and injure many people.
As with a pocket knife, in a jackknife accident, two separate parts of the truck, the cab and trailer, fold in on themselves at the point of separation. Where the cab and trailer are linked together, they swivel, forming a 90-degree angle or “V” shape. When a big rig jackknifes at any speed, it is likely to then roll over.
What Causes Tractor-Trailers to Jackknife?
Semis can jackknife when the truck loses traction; when the truck’s drive wheels are locked at a slick spot in the road, while the front wheels and trailer are rolling forward. Jackknifing can also occur when a trucker takes a curve at an unsafe speed, or when he or she swerves to avoid obstacles in the road or another vehicle. Factors that contribute to jackknifes include:
- Speeding or traveling too fast for conditions
- Improper braking that causes trailer brakes to lock
- Skidding on slippery roads
- Taking steep curves too quickly
- Equipment malfunction (such as hydraulic or brake failure)
- Swerving to avoid obstacles or vehicles
Common Injuries in Jackknife Truck Accidents
Passenger vehicle occupants can suffer serious or catastrophic injuries, or even death, in a truck accident. Common injuries include:
- Skull fractures
- Traumatic brain injury
- Facial injuries
- Whiplash
- Back and neck injuries
- Seatbelt injuries
- Internal injuries
- Fractured bones
- Lacerations
- Burns
Who Is Liable for Damages?
In many cases, liability for jackknife accidents lies with the truck driver and the trucking company. However, with any commercial trucking accident, there could be multiple potentially liable parties, such as a shipper that improperly loaded the cargo, a maintenance company that failed to inspect or do repairs, or the manufacturer of a defective truck part if equipment failure caused the crash. Our Orange County personal injury lawyers have the knowledge, skills, and resources to investigate your accident thoroughly to determine fault and liability.
Why Choose Allen Flatt Ballidis & Leslie?
All large truck collisions are complex cases involving federal regulations and multiple potentially responsible parties. Jackknife cases can be even more complicated when the wreck stretches across several lanes of traffic, causing a multi-car pileup and seriously injuring many people. Trucking companies and their insurers have teams of investigators and attorneys whose aim is to minimize payouts. If you have been injured in a crash, you need an experienced personal injury lawyer by your side to protect your rights.
Our firm was founded in 1974 – we have more than 40 years of experience. We treat people with dignity and provide personal, client-centered services. Our attorneys have a successful track record, recovering hundreds of millions of dollars for our clients.
Truck accidents can cause serious injuries with long-lasting consequences for victims. It is crucial to recover the full compensation to cover your medical expenses and other losses, now and in the future. Contact Allen Flatt Ballidis & Leslie at (949) 752-7474 today for dedicated legal advocacy after a jackknife truck accident.
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