A Connecticut woman mauled nearly to death by a friend’s pet chimpanzee in 2009 has lost her bid to sue the state for $150 million in damages.
Charla Nash says she’s “heartbroken” Wednesday after the state Judiciary Committee voted 35-3 to uphold a decision last year by a state claims commissioner, who rejected her request.
Nash, 60, who is blind and underwent a complete face transplant following the gruesome rampage by Travis the chimp at a friend’s Stamford home, pointed to a memo by the state’s Department of Energy and Environmental Protection that labeled the primate “an accident waiting to happen” in her plea to be compensated for the state’s negligence. She has prosthetic eyes.
But Attorney General George Jepsen urged the panel to reject her argument, saying the state had no responsibility to protect the badly disfigured woman from the 200-pound animal.
Connecticut is one of only a few states that has sovereign immunity against most lawsuits, meaning a potential plaintiff needs permission to sue from a state claims commissioner — which was denied Wednesday, according to the Hartford Courant.
“I am heartbroken,” Nash wrote in a prepared statement to the Courant after she learned of the vote. “The fact that I will not be able to tell my side of the story to a court of law is devastating. This process isn’t fair. Right now, I need some time to think things through and talk with my family. I wanted a chance to be able to pay my medical bills and get the assistance I need to live as normal of a life as possible. I can’t give up hope now. This means too much to my daughter Briana and me.”
Travis was raised by Nash’s close friend Sandy Herold in Stamford, Conn., essentially from birth.
Many people, including local police, thought Travis was fully socialized and did not pose a threat to his human masters who regarded him as one of the family.
The tremendously powerful primate could open doors using keys, ate at the dinner table with a glass of wine and adored ice cream. He was a big fan of baseball, could drive a car, enjoyed painting and even took baths with Herold.
On Feb. 16, 2009, Travis snapped. He was 14 years old.
The beast escaped his cage, prompting Herold to call her friend to help. The animal mauled Nash nearly to death before a cop shot Travis after the beast ripped open the door of a police cruiser and flashed his blood-covered fangs.
Investigators speculated that it was a dose of Xanax that made Travis’ behavior change so suddenly. They also wondered if Nash’s new hairdo made Travis think she was an intruder.
In 2012, Nash reached a $4 million settlement with the estate of Herold, who died in 2010.
Nash made a rare public appearance last month when she pleaded with the politicians to allow her to sue, a move she said would prevent future chimp attacks.
With News Wire Services
