Cape Girardeau Jackknife Accidents

When a truck’s tires lose traction while on the road, jackknifing usually occurs as a result. The loss of traction of a commercial truck’s tires can be due to several things, such as poor maintenance, improper braking by the truck driver, wet road conditions, and more. For instance, you could be driving along Interstate 55 near West Park Mall – located at 3049 William Street, Cape Girardeau, Missouri 63703 – on a day it is raining and see a tractor-trailer truck starting to jackknife in the lane adjacent to you. The attached trailer could end up swinging into the back of your vehicle and sending you off the interstate highway, resulting in you suffering serious injuries.

Injuries and losses you sustain from a jackknife crash can possibly be recovered from the truck driver, but in order to do that, you will likely have to establish the negligence of the truck driver by showing that you were owed a duty of reasonable care by the truck driver, but he or she breached it, which resulted in you sustaining injuries. Common injuries suffered in a trucking accident can include whiplash, neck and back injuries, head trauma, and broken bones. The trucking company may also be held liable with the help of a skilled lawyer. If the truck driver was acting within the course and scope of their employment when the accident occurred, the truck driver’s employer may be held vicariously liable.

After liability has been established, damages can become the focus of your case. To compensate you for medical bills from nearby hospitals – such as Saint Francis Medical Center, which is located at 211 Saint Francis Drive, Cape Girardeau, Missouri – lost wages, and other monetary losses stemming from the crash, you can be awarded economic damages. If you experienced loss of enjoyment of life, mental anguish, or some other intangible loss due to accident, you can be awarded non-economic damages.