Oklahoma City Jackknife Accidents
Our nation’s supply chain depends on the goods brought into communities through large commercial trucks, many of which are semi-tractor trailer trucks—a tractor truck towing a large trailer through a fifth-wheel coupling device. These immense vehicles outweigh smaller cars by about 76,000 pounds, causing devastation to vulnerable motorists in accidents. There were 5,837 commercial truck accidents with fatalities in 2022. A significant number of those accidents were catastrophic jackknife truck accidents.
What Is a Jackknife Truck Accident?
When a truck pulls a trailer, the coupling device is meant to keep the truck and trailer in alignment; however, under adverse conditions, the trailer sometimes moves out of alignment with the truck, pushing the truck forward and sideways while the trailer swings outward on its axis point. This causes a terrifying truck accident in which the truck and trailer form the shape of a partly open jackknife. In some cases, the truck’s cab tips over during the crash.
Because a truck and long trailer may abruptly block multiple lanes in a jackknife accident, other drivers sharing the roadway may not have time to stop, causing multi-vehicle collisions and pileup accidents, including deadly underride accidents where a smaller vehicle lodges under the trailer.
What Causes a Jackknife Truck Accident in Oklahoma City?
Most jackknife truck accidents result from driver error. Common causes of jackknife accidents in Oklahoma City include:
- Improper braking
- Speeding
- Inexperienced driver
- Failing to adjust speed for slippery road conditions
- Mechanical defects in brakes
- Defective equipment
- Improperly secured or unbalanced cargo
- Speeding around curves
- Improper turns
- Roadway hazards such as construction debris or obstacles in the road
Jackknife accidents are one of the most serious traffic accidents, often causing multiple injuries and/or fatalities. Injuries occur most often to motorists in smaller vehicles (about 70%) rather than truck drivers due to the larger size and heavier weight of trucks.
What Types of Injuries Happen in Jackknife Accidents In Oklahoma City?
Jackknife accidents cause serious and catastrophic injuries to vulnerable motorists in smaller, lighter vehicles. Common injuries named in jackknife accident claims include:
- Traumatic brain injuries
- Fractures
- Neck injuries
- Back injuries
- Soft-tissue injuries to shoulders, knees, ankles, wrists, and other body parts
- Internal organ injuries
- Spinal cord damage
- Chest injuries
- Lacerations, bruises, and abrasions
- Burns
- Facial trauma
- Wrongful death
Injuries in truck accidents are expensive as well as painful, especially when an injury causes long-term disability and diminished earning capacity.
Liability in Oklahoma City Truck Accidents
When a motorist in another vehicle suffers serious injuries in a jackknife accident in Oklahoma City, the injury victim may make a compensation claim against the liable party or multiple parties that contributed to the accident. It often takes an in-depth investigation into a jackknife accident to determine the liable party. Liability could rest with any one of the following entities depending on the circumstances of the accident:
- The truck driver
- The trucking company
- A negligent truck maintenance company
- The manufacturer of a defective truck or trailer part
- A negligent freight loading company
- A third party such as a negligent road maintenance agency
Proving liability in a truck accident claim requires showing evidence that the at-fault party owed a duty of care to others on the road, they breached this duty of care through negligence or recklessness, their reckless actions caused the accident and injuries, and the injury victim suffered damages like medical expenses, lost wages, and pain and suffering.
How Can a Jackknife Truck Accident Lawyer In Oklahoma Help?
Taking on the legal complexities of a truck accident claim can feel overwhelming—especially if you and your family suffered serious injuries. Call the Oklahoma City semi-truck accident attorneys at Dan Davis Law for the experienced guidance you need to protect your best interests throughout the process of physical and financial recovery.