Woman Mauled by Chimpanzee Denied $150 Million State Lawsuit

A Connecticut woman who was attacked by a chimpanzee was denied clearance to sue the state for $150 million.

The New England state can only be sued if state Claims Commissioner J. Paul Vance Jr. gives his stamp of approval-and this time, Charla Nash's claim did not pass.

After a friend's pet chimpanzee mauled her in Stamford in 2009, Nash was permanently blinded, lost both her hands and had to undergo facial reconstructive surgery, the Associated Press reported. She got to a $4 million settlement in 2012 for the estate of the owner of the chimpanzee, Sandra Herold, who passed away two years prior.

59-year-old Nash's lawyer claimed that the state of Connecticut should not be held liable for taking the animal into custody in the days before the attack, because the chimpanzee was deemed to be dangerous.

Yet, State Attorney General George Jepsen maintained that the state was not responsible for the violent mauling.

Claims Commissioner Vance said that the state did not prohibit private housing of chimpanzees and it was therefore not Connecticut's job to nab a privately owned animal.

"The State of Connecticut, were it a private person, would generally not have any duty to control the conduct of [a] third party absent some special relationship," Vance wrote.

The fateful day of the mauling, Nash went to Herold's home to help cajole her comrade's 200-pound chimp, named Travis, back into the house.

But the chimp flew off the handle, jumping on Nash, ripping off her nose, lips, eyelids and hands. A police officer then showed up on the scene and killed the chimp with one fatal shot.

Nash now dwells in a nursing home on the outskirts of Boston.

"I hope and pray that the commissioner will give me any day in court," Nash said to the media before the hearing. "And I also pray that I hope this never happens to anyone else again. It is not nice."