The cabs and trailers of semi-trucks are connected by a unique coupling joint that can rotate freely in order to allow the truck to make tight turns more easily in transit. One major drawback of this design is that it leads to the cab and trailer each having their own separate momentum while the truck is moving. If a truck driver loses control of their vehicle, the trailer may kick out to the side or even swing all the way out in front of the cab.
When a truck bends into a jackknife shape like this, it often ends up colliding with multiple cars at high speed, causing serious and potentially life-threatening injuries to multiple people at once. If you were caught up and injured in a jackknife truck accident in Reading, you should strongly consider contacting a skilled truck crash lawyer for help filing suit over the wreck and demanding civil compensation for the harm you’ve sustained.
Who’s Legally Liable When a Truck Jackknifes?
In many situations, jackknife truck collisions in Reading stem from a reckless, careless, or illegal act by the person driving the truck. Speeding is a particularly common form of negligence that leads to crashes like this occurring, as are things like failing to slow down for sharp turns in bad weather, driving while drunk or high, and driving while distracted.
Truck drivers are not always the only people who hold civil liability for the effects of a jackknife wreck. For instance, trucking companies can often be held vicariously liable for negligence by one of their employees or for their own negligent hiring and training practices leading to a crash occurring.
Alternatively, fault may lie with a manufacturer that produced faulty truck components, a mechanic who failed to keep a truck in safe working order, or even a local government body that didn’t maintain a road in a safe condition. Guidance from an experienced attorney can be vital to sorting out exactly who’s to blame for a particular wreck and taking effective legal action against all of them.
Filing Time Limits for Jackknife Truck Crash Claims
Help from legal counsel in Reading can also be key to building and filing a strong claim over a jackknife truck accident within the statute of limitations. This is a section of state law that sets a time limit on how long people injured by the negligence of others have to file suit over their injuries.
For most truck wreck victims, the filing deadline set by the statute of limitations is two years past the date on which they initially got hurt. There may be limited exceptions in situations where injured people weren’t aware they were hurt through someone else’s negligence until some time after their injury occurred, as a legal professional can explain in more detail.
Get Help from a Reading Attorney With a Jackknife Truck Accident Lawsuit
A jackknifing truck is one of the most frightening and dangerous things anyone can see on any road in Pennsylvania. Fortunately, you likely have a right to take legal action against anyone and everyone who played a role in causing a crash like this if you suffered an injury from the wreck serious enough to need professional medical care.
Representation from a seasoned lawyer will make a huge difference in how effectively you’re able to enforce your rights following a jackknife truck accident in Reading. Learn more by calling Ostroff Godshall Injury and Accident Lawyers today to schedule a free, no-obligation consultation.
