Family files suit over man's COVID-19 death in prison
MINNEAPOLIS — The family of a man who died from COVID-19 while incarcerated in prison has filed a new lawsuit over his death.
The suit was filed over Ron Rustan's death in December 2020. He had been sentenced to prison after failing a blood alcohol test during the probationary process for a DUI conviction. In the suit, family members alleged that the urine sample was less conclusive, and that Rustan claimed he had only recently had cough syrup.
He was subsequently sentenced to 42 months in prison, despite the emerging threat from the COVID-19 pandemic. Rustan's family alleges that it was known that Rustan had a number of comorbidities.
The suit alleges that Centurion and its doctors, which provide medical services for "Hennepin County and the State of Minnesota to provide correctional related medical service," failed to act when Ron Rustan fell ill from COVID, resulting in his death. The suit claims medical malpractice, and describes Rustan's final moments of being intubated while shackled to his bed.
A similar suit was previously filed in Federal Court naming other defendants, including the Department of Corrections. That suit was dismissed by the judge.