The hinge between a semi truck’s cab and trailer might not strike you as a particularly dangerous component, but under the wrong circumstances, it can end up causing one of the most deadly types of truck accidents. When a truck “jackknifes” across multiple lanes of traffic, it often impacts multiple other vehicles as a result, potentially totaling each one and causing immense harm to other drivers and passengers.
After a jackknife truck accident in Pascagoula, civil recovery may be critical to protecting your best interests and preserving your future prospects. Once retained, a truck accident lawyer could work on your behalf to prove negligence by a truck driver or trucking company and seek financial restitution for your injuries and losses.
A jackknife truck accident occurs when a truck’s trailer getting ahead of its cab so that the truck’s overall shape resembles a jackknife. This occurs because of a sudden loss of momentum from the truck’s cab or a sudden loss of traction from the truck’s trailer. Regardless, the cab slows down while the trailer keeps going, and a jackknife wreck results.
Driver error is the most common cause of jackknife truck accidents in Pascagoula. For instance, a driving slamming on the brakes suddenly because they were following other traffic too closely, speeding, made an unsafe turn, or simply let their attention drift away from the road could easily result in them losing control of their vehicle and jackknifing.
In other situations, this kind of incident stems from a truck’s trailer being overloaded, loaded in an imbalanced way, or not having its cargo properly secured. If an unbalanced load causes a loss of traction at the wrong moment, an ensuing jackknife crash could be the fault of whoever loaded the truck or whoever failed to ensure it was loaded safely.
Regardless of the specific cause of a jackknife wreck, a person injured as a result of one must prove that someone else was legally at fault for it in order to recover compensation. The injured party and their attorney must show that the truck driver, the driver’s employer, a third party, or even a government entity responsible for road maintenance directly caused the accident in question by doing something reckless or careless.
It can often take a lot of hard work and legal know-how to prove fault for a Pascagoula jackknife truck crash based on a preponderance of available evidence. Assistance from a skilled attorney is often essential to collecting and effectively presenting evidence like police reports, security camera footage, black box recordings, witness testimony, and physical evidence from the scene of a wreck.
In addition, legal representation could be key to ensuring comparative negligence does not impact a plaintiff’s recoverable compensation. According to Mississippi Code §11-7-15, any plaintiff found partially liable for an accident by the court overseeing their case could have their final damage award proportionately reduced by whatever percentage of fault they are found to bear.
Jackknife truck accidents tend to make for especially complex civil claims, often because of the number of parties involved and the severity of injuries that may ensue from such an incident. If you want to get the best result out of your case, retaining qualified legal counsel may be a virtual necessity.
A knowledgeable lawyer could guide you through your case from start to finish, working tenaciously at every stage to enforce your right to recovery. Call today to discuss your legal options following a jackknife truck accident in Pascagoula.