Ramsey County to pay $3M to woman who said jailers ‘severely injured’ her leg, failed to get help

A woman who says her leg was severely hurt at the Ramsey County jail after she was arrested in 2021 has reached a multi-million-dollar settlement with the county.

Richard Student, one of the attorneys representing Miri Mozuch-Stafford, confirmed to 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS that Ramsey County agreed to pay her $3 million to settle her lawsuit.

Mozuch-Stafford sued the county, six correctional officers and a jail doctor last year, claiming their actions led to serious injuries to her leg and they violated her rights by not getting her medical help in a timely manner.

According to her lawsuit, Mozuch-Stafford tried to shelter at a local hotel during the early morning hours of Feb. 8, 2021 but was arrested by St. Paul police for disorderly conduct and taken to the county jail. After she was brought to a holding cell, Mozuch-Stafford said the officers said something she didn’t immediately comply with and the officers used a takedown maneuver on her, which her lawsuit called “objectively unreasonable,” by itself.

However, during the takedown, she suffered a comminuted, varus-hyperextension patterned, fracture of her left proximal tibia, and a severed left popliteal artery, the lawsuit states, and she started to scream in pain and ask for help. The lawsuit adds that the officers declined to help or get help, and while an unknown employee checked on her around 20 minutes later, no aid was provided or requested and she remained in the cell.

The doctor checked on Mozuch-Stafford at noon that day and noted her knee was swollen 4-5 inches more than her other leg and she was in a lot of pain. However, no emergency medical aid was given again and Mozuch-Stafford was just put in a wheelchair in her cell, according to the lawsuit.

At around 9:30 p.m., the jail ordered her transport to the hospital for treatment.

The lawsuit says Mozuch-Stafford underwent multiple invasive orthopedic, vascular and skin graft surgeries to relieve severe compartment syndrome and repair her leg but her leg is still “severely and permanently disfigured” and she has permanent weakness and loss of motion.

Court records show that U.S. District Court Judge Paul A. Magnuson formally approved Ramsey County’s settlement with Mozuch-Stafford on Tuesday and dismissed the lawsuit.

5 EYEWITNESS NEWS has reached out to the county for comment but hasn’t yet heard back.