![]() The medical team, a dozen strong, knew that similar operations on similar patients were rare and seldom successful. The brain surgery took place on a Sunday morning in March inside Milwaukee's most unusual hospital. "What we're asking for is to let a court of law decide whether the DEEP was negligent.This story was republished on Jan. "This case is about the systemic, institutional gross negligence of the Department of Energy and Environment Protection, from the commissioner all the way down to its police force," Willinger said. Willinger said Connecticut is one of only several states in the country that maintains sovereign immunity, and the only one where a single claims commissioner makes the decision. In 2012, a settlement was reached in the amount of $4 million, nearly the entire amount of Herold's estate. Nash filed a lawsuit against Herold, who died in 2010. Nor is it in the public interest to grant it," Jepsen said at the hearing. Nash's injuries, or whether in hindsight, DEEP could have done things differently or better, the law does not support this claim. 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.īut 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" and lawmakers should reject her request. What you will hear will be upsetting and appalling," Willinger said. "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. Her lawyer, Charles Willinger of Bridgeport, insisted that his client has the right to have her day in court. The animal was shot dead at the scene by a Stamford police officer. 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. She now lives in a Boston-area convalescent facility where she is highly dependent on staff. (REUTERS/Brigham and Women's Hospital/Handout) ![]() 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.Ī combination photo shows face transplant recipient Charla Nash, of Stamford, Connecticut, before her injury and after her surgery, in these photographs released on August 11, 2011. "I want the chance to pay my medical bills, and live a comfortable life. ![]() ![]() denying her request to waive Connecticut's sovereign immunity from lawsuits. She asked lawmakers to pass legislation overruling a June decision by state Claims Commissioner J. Her legal team has said that before the attack, the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environment Protection (DEEP) described the illegally owned, 200-pound (90 kilogram) chimp as a serious threat to public safety. "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, her head wrapped with protective white gauze. 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.Ĭharla Nash, 60, 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.
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