A Jefferson County jury this week awarded $12 million to passengers injured in a 2015 MAX bus crash in Fairfield.

The verdict was reached Monday, after a week-long trial. Lawyers from Alexander Shunnarah Personal Injury Attorneys, Sara Williams and Brandon Bishop, represented 10 of the 15 victims in the lawsuit.

"So many things could have been done to prevent this," Sara Williams, a managing attorney for the firm, said.

Of the victims Sara Williams and Bishop represented, who had the most severe injuries, was Charlyse Williams (no relation to her attorney). Charlyse Williams' right leg had to be amputated below the knee after the crash. Their other clients suffered several broken bones, including one person who had their back broken in three places.

The Birmingham-Jefferson County Transit Authority, which operates the MAX bus system, told AL.com Friday, "Our thoughts and prayers are with the injured passengers and our operator. It is our policy not to comment on any pending litigation," Ronda Robinson, BJCTA Director of Communications, said.

An attorney for the BJCTA, Tim Donahue, said "We are analyzing all of our legal options at this point."

Of the $12 million verdict, six million was for compensatory damages and six million for punitive damages. The punitive damages will be split equally between each plaintiff.

Attorneys Daniel Lehane, Ronald Jackson, Hiram Griffin and Antonio Spurling represented other victims in the lawsuit. Spurling represented the family of the woman, Doris Jackson, who died following the accident.

Jackson's family was awarded $150,000 in compensatory and $400,000 in punitive damages.

The trial was held before Jefferson County Bessemer Cutoff Circuit Judge Annetta Verin.

Charlyse Williams was at the front of the bus on Feb. 9, 2015-- the day of the crash - and was headed home.

Suddenly, she said, the driver started to slump over the steering wheel. She jumped up and ran to the front of the bus, in an attempt to grab the wheel." It was like he was having a seizure," Charlyse Williams said.

Once she reached the driver's seat, the driver had fainted and the bus ran over a curb, falling on its side into a ravine. Charlyse Williams said she was thrown to the front of the bus, and then backward. She hit the floor, and upon impact the bus' wheelchair lift fell on top of Charlyse Williams, trapping her leg underneath. The driver then fell on top of her.

"After that... there are a lot of things I don't remember," she said.

Bishop said emergency crews arrived about 10 minutes after the crash, and Charlyse Williams was the last person to be rescued. All of the other 21 people on board were able to crawl out of the bus' windows, but Charlyse Williams and the driver had to be pulled from the front of the bus.

Once she arrived at the hospital, Charlyse Williams learned the bones in her foot were so mangled, her leg was going to have to be amputated below the knee. Several of her foot bones were brought to the emergency room in a plastic bag.

"It has changed my life totally," Charlyse Williams said Friday. Emotionally, she spoke about her life 'before' the crash-- she was an elementary school cook, she loved to be around people, and was totally independent. "Now, I have none of that," she said.

Owner of the firm, Alexander Shunnarah, said Charlyse Williams has gone from being a total extrovert to an introvert.

Before the trial, Charlyse Williams didn't know that the bus driver had been involved in 14 accidents while driving a MAX bus.

"This was the most preventable wreck any of us have ever seen in our careers," Bishop said.

The bus driver, who had worked for the BJCTA since 1988, had a medical condition that caused him to faint. The BJCTA was aware of that issue, Sara Williams and Bishop said, but had no policies or procedure in place to remove him, or other drivers who were unsafe to be on the road.

"This bus driver should have never been behind the wheel," Bishop said.

According to Charlyse Williams' lawyers, the BJCTA's process involves supervisors on the scene visually evaluating employees when they arrive to work, before giving them a key card that allows them to access the bus. Those supervisors are not informed about the individual drivers' medical history or conditions though, and have no way to ensure they are taking care of their illnesses.

The supervisor had no way of knowing the driver had a history of fainting, nor that he had not taken his medication that day, the lawyers said

Sara Williams and Bishop were the lead attorneys in the trial, and said they think the jury was most persuaded by the potential for the wreck to be prevented.

"The law holds [BJCTA] to a higher standard than that, and I think the jury held them to a higher standard, too," Sara Williams said.

Bishop agreed. He said, "There was nothing sudden about this accident. This is the least sudden accident."

"It's neglect," Charlyse Williams said. "It just doesn't matter to them."

As to what the BJCTA can do to prevent another crash from happening, Bishop said they need to have stricter medical qualifications for their drivers. Someone who has a medical condition that causes a loss of consciousness should not be allowed to drive a bus, and should be transferred to another position within the BJCTA.

Sara Williams said the company leaders should familiarize themselves with their drivers' medical history, and make sure those drivers are complying with their care. "The BJCTA needs to be challenged to do something... to ensure this does not happen again," Sara Williams said. "The jury's message was, 'we expect better.'"

"It was clear the jury was very bothered by the BJCTA's failure to prevent this wreck," she said. "This is important to every single person on this community."

Charlyse Williams misses a lot about her old life-- but she misses dancing the most. "We really do develop a really, really close relationship with our clients," Shunnarah said. "It becomes very personal to us."

While Charlyse Williams will need continuing medical care and therapy, she wants to gain back as much of her old life as possible. Prior to the crash, she often volunteered at the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute. While she knows she can't lift heavy objects or stand for long periods of time, Charlyse Williams wants to get back to volunteering as soon as possible.

AL.com reporter Erin Edgemon contributed to this report.