Woman with face ripped off by pet chimp makes rare appearance

A woman whose face and hands were ripped off by a friend's pet chimpanzee in 2009 came to the Connecticut State Capitol on Friday to ask permission to sue the state for $150 million in damages.

Charla Nash, who has undergone a face transplant and many other surgeries, including a failed double-hand transplant, spoke to the Connecticut General Assembly's Judiciary Committee, her head wrapped with protective white gauze.

"My name is Charla Nash and I'm hoping you can make a decision based on the fact that the state knew what was happening and failed to protect me," said Nash, 60.

Her legal team has said that before the attack, the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environment Protection (DEEP) had described the illegally owned, 200-pound (90 kilogram) chimp as a serious threat to public safety.

She asked lawmakers to pass legislation overruling a June decision by state Claims Commissioner J. Paul Vance Jr. that denied her request to waive Connecticut's sovereign immunity from lawsuits.

(AP)

"I want the chance to pay my medical bills and live a comfortable life. But I also want to make sure that what happened to me never happens to anyone else ever again," said Nash, who wore a white hat with ear flaps over the gauze protecting her still-healing head.

She lives in a Boston-area convalescent facility where she is highly dependent on staff.

Nash was at the Stamford home of her friend and employer, Sandra Herold, when Herold's pet chimp, Travis, attacked her, leaving her blind and disfigured. The animal was shot dead at the scene by a Stamford police officer.

Nash's lawyer, Charles Willinger of Bridgeport, insisted that his client has the right to have her day in court.

(AP)

"The facts you will shortly hear - and these are facts that will shock you - demonstrate the failure and omission of a state agency to properly and legally protect the public. What you will hear will be upsetting and appalling," Willinger said.

Her legal team has argued that she has the right for a court to decide whether to find the state negligent, despite Connecticut's sovereign immunity law, which makes it difficult to sue the state in such cases.

(AP)

But state Attorney General George Jepsen said that allowing  Nash to sue the state would "open the floodgates for unlimited lawsuits and liability that would bankrupt the state." He urged lawmakers to reject her request.

Undated photos provided Thursday, August 11, 2011 by Brigham and Women’s Hospital show chimpanzee attack victim Charla Nash after the attack, left, and post-face transplant surgery, right. Nash was mauled by a chimpanzee in 2009 and received the transplant in May 2011 at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Massachusetts. Nash, 57, said in a statement she's looking forward to doing things she once took for granted, including being able to smell, eat normally, speak clearly and kiss loved ones (AP Photo)

"Regardless of the extent of Ms. Nash's injuries, or whether in hindsight, DEEP could have done things differently or better, the law does not support this claim. Nor is it in the public interest to grant it," said Jepsen at the hearing.

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