There’s no warning when a jackknife truck accident will occur. It’s a terrifying experience and can cause serious injuries. What’s even more disturbing is many times these accidents are preventable. If you sustained a serious injury in an accident with a jackknifed truck, Regan Zambri Long’s Washington, DC jackknife truck accident lawyers can help.
Our board-certified attorneys understand the financial and personal toll victims face after crashing into a tractor-trailer. We have secured millions for truck accident clients throughout the Washington, DC metro area. Whether you are struggling to get compensation through insurance companies or are uncertain what steps to take, our jackknife truck accident lawyers provide the guidance needed to move your case forward. With almost 200 years of combined experience handling trucking injury cases in DC, Maryland, and Virginia, our award-winning team focuses on securing the recovery injured victims and their families deserve.
Have you or a loved one been injured in a jackknife truck accident? Contact Regan Zambri Long today, and one of our attorneys will get in touch for a free consultation. We’re available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and you only pay if we win your case.
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To understand how a commercial truck “jackknifes” we have to first look at the parts of the vehicle. The tractor (commonly called the “cab”) is where the driver sits and steers the vehicle. The trailer is directly behind the tractor and is where the freight being transported is loaded. The combination of the two is commonly called a tractor-trailer in our area and is also referred to as a semi-truck or an 18-wheeler. While carrying cargo, these vehicles can weigh up to 80,000 pounds, which is 20-30 times the weight of a regular car.
According to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), one out of every 20 truck accidents results in a jackknife incident. This equates to approximately 2,500 jackknifing accidents each year.
Because of their weight and size, tractor-trailers take much longer to stop than cars traveling at the same speed. In ideal conditions, an average sedan traveling at 65 mph can stop in about 300 feet, which is almost half the length of a football field; a loaded tractor-trailer can take 525 feet to come to a complete stop. If bad weather or poor road conditions are factored in, it could take the tractor-trailer even longer to fully stop.
With stopping times in mind, let’s look at how a tractor-trailer truck jackknifes. When a truck driver tries to brake suddenly or loses traction on the road, it can cause the cab and the trailer of the truck to skid. When this happens, the trailer may swing out to a 90-degree angle so the truck is in an L shape. This shape resembles a folding pocket knife or jackknife, which is where the name comes from. Many times, when jackknife truck accidents occur, the tractor-trailer plows through multiple cars as it slides across several lanes. Additionally, cargo may spill out of the trailer, causing further damage and hazards on the road. If the truck driver cannot regain control, the entire truck could roll over.
According to the most recent detailed breakdown of Large Truck Crash Facts available from the FMCSA, there were 127 fatal crashes, 1,000 injury crashes, and 4,000 property-damage crashes involving jackknife truck accidents in 2021. These figures show how frequently serious collisions involving large commercial vehicles occur and the scale of harm they can cause when control of a tractor-trailer is lost.
Each truck accident case is unique so what compensation you may receive depends on several factors such as:
With any personal injury claim, there are two types of compensation you may receive — economic and non-economic damages.
Economic damages refer to the compensation you can receive for any monetary losses caused by the jackknife accident. This includes:
Non-economic damages are more subjective. It refers to recovering compensation for any non-monetary losses you experience, including:
In some instances, you may also receive punitive damages, which are meant to punish the behavior of those responsible for the jackknife accident.
Several parties may be responsible for your jackknife accident, including:
To learn who is responsible for your accident, a complete investigation will be needed to collect the evidence before it disappears. A jackknife truck accident attorney at Regan Zambri Long has the resources available to get the evidence needed to prove who is at the fault for the truck wreck.
There are many reasons a truck can jackknife while traveling, but the most common cause is improper braking or brake malfunctions. Brake problems are the single greatest cause of large truck accidents across the board. If the truck driver brakes too hard, the wheels can lock up causing a jackknife. If the truck’s brakes are already faulty, then it won’t matter if the driver uses the brakes perfectly – they will not work correctly.
Truck companies are required to regularly service their vehicles before sending them on the road. A Regan Zambri Long jackknife truck accident lawyer will investigate maintenance logs and the maintenance crew to discover if poor maintenance led to your truck accident.
Other causes of jackknife accidents are:
The costs associated with jackknife accident injuries largely depend on how severe the victim’s injuries are. Victims of jackknife truck accidents can sustain the following injuries:
All of these injuries can be life-threatening or leave jackknife truck accident victims permanently debilitated. Victims of traumatic brain injuries or those who suffer from paralysis due to a spinal cord injury will have drastically different life after the accident. Ambulance rides, hospital stays, surgeries, rehabilitation, physical and occupational therapy, and ongoing medications and treatment can send even the wealthiest of families into financial distress.
In addition to ongoing medical care, paralysis victims must buy special equipment and may have to restructure their entire home to accommodate wheelchairs, etc.
The Regan Zambri Long jackknife truck accident lawyers will work to ensure you have enough financial compensation to cover all current and future medical expenses. If you or your loved one suffered a life-changing injury from a jackknife truck accident, we will make sure the accident doesn’t send you and your family into financial debt.
Truck accidents need an experienced team of personal injury lawyers to handle the case. The insurance companies involved will try to prevent jackknife accident victims from receiving the full amount of compensation needed to pay for their losses. But with a skilled truck accident attorney from Regan Zambri Long, you have a better chance of getting the compensation that you deserve.
We have recovered more than $1 billion in settlements and verdicts for personal injury victims in Washington, DC, Maryland, Virginia, and across the country, including multiple seven-figure outcomes for people injured in truck accidents. These results come from almost three decades of focused work investigating serious crashes, holding negligent trucking companies accountable, and building strong cases for injured victims and their families.
Our partners are widely recognized for their work in complex personal injury litigation. All three founding partners are board certified by the National Board of Trial Advocacy and hold AV Preeminent ratings from Martindale-Hubbell, the highest peer-reviewed rating a U.S. attorney can receive. All of our attorneys are currently listed among the Best Lawyers in the District of Columbia for Plaintiff Personal Injury Litigation, and three partners are ranked among the Top 100 Super Lawyers in Washington, DC. Our work has also received national recognition, with Regan Zambri Long consistently named among the Best Law Firms in America and all six partners again included in Lawdragon’s 2026 list of the 500 Leading Plaintiff Consumer Lawyers in the United States.
If you were injured in a jackknife accident anywhere in the DC area, our truck accident attorney is here to help. Contact a jackknife truck accident lawyer at Regan Zambri Long today to schedule a free consultation.
Several different kinds of commercial tractor-trailer trucks have the capability of causing jackknife accidents. Each of these trucks travel every day on the roadways of Washington, DC, Maryland, Virginia, and across the rest of the United States. While they are very important to our economy, they also create unique dangers to other drivers on the road. The safest thing you can do when sharing the road with one of these trucks is to place as much distance as possible from these trucks.
Other types of tractor-trailers that can cause jackknife accidents are:
Not all motor vehicle accidents can be prevented, but there are several safety measures you can take while sharing the road with large tractor-trailers that will help you avoid a collision:
The time restrictions on filing a truck accident claim differ from state to state. In Washington, DC, and Maryland, the statute of limitations is three years. However, in Virginia, truck accident victims only have two years to file a claim.
While these statutes may seem like a long time, evidence can easily disappear within days of the accident. And once the window is closed, you may not recover damages for your injuries. The safest thing to do is to contact a Regan Zambri Long truck accident lawyer as soon as possible to start your claim immediately. That way, you will have a financial safety net when medical bills start piling up.
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) is the government organization that regulates and oversees the trucking industry. Truck drivers and trucking companies must follow local, state, and federal laws, which can make truck accident claims complicated. The Regan Zambri Long truck accident attorneys are experts in FMCSA laws and will use their knowledge to build a rock-solid case that will secure the maximum amount of compensation.
The FMCSA regulations include:
If any of these regulations are violated, the guilty party could face warnings, fines, and other penalties.
Jackknife truck accidents often involve multiple vehicles and victims, which makes the claims process extremely complex. Working with a seasoned truck accident lawyer will help ensure that you recover the maximum amount of compensation possible. Our truck accident attorneys will determine liability, collect evidence from the scene of the accident, interview witnesses, obtain the police report, and deal with the insurance companies.
We have years of experience so we know which damages to pursue and how much you should receive. Damages you can recover from a jackknife truck accident include current and future medical treatment, lost wages, loss of earning capacity, and pain and suffering.
We offer free initial consultations to discuss all your legal options and we don’t take a fee unless we win. Call today to speak with an expert truck accident attorney to get the claims process started.
Have you or your loved one sustained injuries in Washington DC, Maryland or Virginia? Regan Zambri Long PLLC has the best lawyers in the country to analyze your case and answer the questions you may have.