While tractor-trailers are still motor vehicles, just like commuter cars, they require specialized knowledge and intensive training to operate safely. When truck drivers fail to act in accordance with their training, they can wind up in a skid where the cab of their truck ends up bent at an angle with the trailer, creating what’s referred to as a jackknife crash.

Jackknife truck accidents in Creve Coeur can—and all too often do—cause life-altering harm to multiple people at once. When you are involved in a devastating jackknife crash, the last thing you should have to worry about is how to pay your medical bills and get back on your feet financially. Getting paid fairly for the negative effects of such a wreck is not something you should try to do on your own. Working closely with the capable and compassionate 18-wheeler crash attorneys at OnderLaw can be key not just to getting the most money possible from your lawsuit or settlement demand, but possibly to getting paid anything at all.

What Makes Jackknife Wrecks So Dangerous?

A big reason driving a big rig is so different from driving a sedan or SUV is the way the tractor connects to the trailer. Rather than being one single continuous vehicle, the trailers of semi-trucks are connected to the cab by a rotating hinge. This function allows both parts of the truck to move separately from each other, meaning a loss of traction in either or both parts can lead to the cab and trailer moving at different speeds and even in different directions.

Once a truck starts jackknifing in this way, there’s very little the truck driver can do to slow down or steer the truck until it comes to rest on its own—usually after hitting multiple other vehicles in multiple other lanes of traffic at a high rate of speed. All these factors put together mean that jackknife truck accidents in Creve Coeur and throughout Missouri are some of the most catastrophic traffic collisions that can happen on state roads and highways.

When you or a loved one are hurt in this type of crash, you need more than just a lawyer; you need an advocate. We will help you navigate the legal process and fight for the justice you deserve for the losses you should never have suffered.

Holding Someone Else Liable for Specific Injuries and Losses

Successfully filing suit over a jackknife truck accident in Creve Coeur typically requires proving that a specific reckless or careless act by the truck driver—for example, speeding, driving while distracted, or not maintaining their truck in safe working order—was the direct and primary cause of the wreck. It’s worth noting, though, that individual truck drivers are rarely the only parties who can be held accountable for this type of incident; it’s often possible to take legal action against a negligent trucker’s employer as well.

Either way, a successful lawsuit or settlement demand can and should provide you with compensation for both past and future financial losses. As our knowledgeable attorneys can further explain, this can include economic and non-economic forms of harm, such as:

  • Medical bills
  • Pain and suffering
  • Personal property damage
  • Lost overall enjoyment/quality of life
  • Lost work income and working capacity.

At OnderLaw, we know this is about much more than a claim—this is your life. We will fight for the comprehensive compensation you need to fully recover following such a traumatic event.

Talk to a Creve Coeur Attorney After a Jackknife Truck Accident

There aren’t many things you can encounter on a public road that are more dangerous and deadly than a jackknifing truck. Anyone whose negligence contributed to causing this type of wreck should be held financially liable for their actions, and having help from dependable legal counsel can be essential to doing that quickly and comprehensively.

OnderLaw will be on your side and by your side throughout every stage of your legal proceedings following a jackknife truck accident in Creve Coeur. Call today to get started.