The victim of a brutal chimp attack wants $150 million from the state, claiming it did nothing to prevent the attack. That figure is "virtually unprecedented," the state Attorney General says.
Charla Nash’s attorneys claim in a petition filed Wednesday with the state's Claims Commissioner that the state Department of Environmental Protection knew that Travis, the 200-pound celebrity chimp, was a serious threat but failed to act.
Charles Willinger, Nash's attorney, said he believes they have a compelling case and thinks the commissioner will allow them to sue the state.
“DEP was wrong and negligent and, for some reason, we don't know why, looked the other way and because of that Charla Nash sustained horrific injuries and all of this should have and could have been avoided if the DEP had done its job properly,” he said.
In March, they filed a lawsuit against the chimp's owner, Sandra Herold, for $50 million.
Nash, 55, lost her hands, nose, lips and sight in February after Travis attacked her when she came to help her employer, Sandra Herold, get the chimp back into the house.
Nash's attorneys say officials from the Department of Environmental Protection were aware of concerns about Travis, including that he could be dangerous for years. Charla Nash's attorneys said, but didn't act.
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"It is an accident waiting to happen," a DEP biologist wrote in a letter dated October 2008, five months before Travis mauled Nash. The Associated Press obtained that letter. "
This case is virtually unprecedented in the size and severity of the claim," Attorney General Richard Blumenthal said.
His office is responsible for defending the state when these types of claims are filed.
For the next two years, Nash will go through surgeries as she recovers. Her brothers have been by her side through her ordeal, first in Connecticut and now at the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio.
Blumenthal’s office is now reviewing the petition and working with the DEP to investigate the claims.
"This heartbreaking horrific tragedy certainly cries out for some action, which now will be given, whether it's the state or another party to be held responsible," Blumenthal said. "Certainly there should be sympathy for the victim, but we need to decide whether the taxpayers of the state should be held liable and responsible."
Nash’s friends have created a Web site, Friends of Charla Nash, to provide updates on her progress.
She is walking around and using primitive prosthetics.
"Charla has accepted her losses. She accepts that she can not change this," the most recent post reads,
Hundreds of claims are filed against the state each year, Blumenthal said, and it could take months for the Claims Commissioner to rule on Nash's claim.
