Interstate 75 carries heavy truck traffic straight through Morrow and Clayton County every day. When a tractor-trailer loses control on that stretch, the results can be catastrophic. A jackknife truck accident can block several lanes in seconds and pull multiple vehicles into one crash. This article explains what causes these crashes, why the evidence disappears so fast, and why you need an experienced truck accident lawyer on your side.
What Is a Jackknife Truck Accident?
A jackknife happens when a truck’s trailer swings out and folds toward the cab. Picture a pocketknife closing, and you have the shape. Once that happens, the driver usually loses control of the entire rig.
These crashes create two dangers at once. First, the swinging trailer can strike nearby cars directly. Second, the trailer often ends up sideways across the highway. Consequently, drivers behind the truck may have almost no time to stop, and chain-reaction collisions often follow.
Speak with a Charlotte car accident lawyer and get a free consultation today.
Call (980) 246-2656What Causes Jackknife Crashes?
Most jackknife accidents start with a loss of traction at the truck’s rear wheels. Several factors can trigger that loss, including:
- Speeding, especially on curves or exit ramps
- Hard or improper braking
- Distracted or fatigued driving
- Empty or lightly loaded trailers, which grip the road less
- Cargo that shifts or sits unevenly in the trailer
- Worn brakes or poorly maintained equipment
- Wet, icy, or slick roads
Notably, bad weather rarely explains a crash on its own. Professional drivers must slow down and adjust for road conditions. When they fail to do so, they and their employers may bear responsibility.
Why Truck Crashes Cause Such Severe Injuries
A loaded tractor-trailer can weigh up to 80,000 pounds, many times more than a typical car. Because of that difference, the people in smaller vehicles absorb most of the force. In Georgia, 197 people died in large-truck crashes in 2024, according to NHTSA. Of those victims, 142 were riding in other vehicles.
Survivors often face brain injuries, spinal cord damage, broken bones, and long recoveries. As a result, these claims frequently involve large medical bills and lost income.
Who Can Be Liable for a Jackknife Truck Accident?
A truck crash claim often involves several parties, not just the driver. Depending on the facts, responsibility may fall on:
- Driver: for speeding, distraction, or unsafe braking
- Trucking company: for unsafe schedules, poor training, or skipped maintenance
- Cargo loader: for an unbalanced or unsecured load
- Maintenance provider: for faulty brake work
- Owner of the trailer: which may differ from the owner of the cab
Identifying every responsible party matters. Each one may carry separate insurance, so naming the right defendants can increase the compensation available to you.
Why Truck Accident Evidence Disappears So Quickly
The most important evidence in a truck case often belongs to the trucking company. Unfortunately, much of it does not last long.
For example, heavy trucks have no federal requirement to carry an event data recorder. Many trucks do record braking data in their engine control modules. However, those systems typically store only a few hard-braking events before overwriting them. Similarly, no federal rule requires carriers to keep dash camera footage, and many overwrite it within weeks. Electronic logging device records must be kept for only six months.
Why a Preservation Letter Matters
Georgia has no statute that makes destroying evidence a crime. Instead, courts can punish a party that fails to preserve evidence it should have kept. In Phillips v. Harmon (2015), the Supreme Court of Georgia held that this duty begins once litigation becomes reasonably foreseeable.
That is why your lawyer should send a preservation letter right away. The letter puts the trucking company on notice that a claim is coming. From that point on, the company risks court sanctions if it destroys relevant records. Even so, courts reserve the harshest sanctions for exceptional cases. Your best protection is to act before the evidence disappears.
Why Hire a Morrow Truck Accident Lawyer?
Trucking companies send their own investigators and lawyers to a crash scene quickly. Their job is to limit what the company pays you.
An experienced truck accident attorney evens the odds. Your legal team can demand engine data, driver logs, maintenance files, and loading records. Additionally, your lawyer can work with crash reconstruction experts to show exactly why the truck lost control. Georgia generally allows two years from the crash date to file an injury lawsuit. Still, waiting even a few weeks can cost you the evidence that proves your case.
Talk to Shane Smith Law About Your Truck Crash
A jackknife truck accident can change your life in an instant. You should not have to take on a trucking company and its insurer alone. At Shane Smith Law, our team moves quickly to preserve the evidence and hold every responsible party accountable. Call 980-982-2329 today for a free consultation with a Morrow truck accident lawyer.
