EDUARDO MUNOZ/REUTERSA Connecticut woman mauled by a pet chimpanzee in 2009 appeared before politicians Friday pleading for the right to sue the state for $150 million.
Charla Nash, who is blind and underwent a face transplant following the gruesome rampage by Travis the chimp, points to a memo by the Department of Environmental Protection that labeled the primate 'an accident waiting to happen.'
Last year a state claims commissioner denied Nash's request to sue - lawmakers are considering a bill that would overturn that decision.
In a recorded address Nash said that her lawsuit, if allowed to go forward, would help prevent future chimp attacks.
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'I feel like I'm locked up,' she said in the video, according to NBC Connecticut. 'I feel like I'm in a cage.
'I'm hoping that the legislation will allow me to have my day in court that I will be able to have a judge listen to the evidence that is brought before him about the vicious attack on me, and that it shall not happen to any other person again,'
The state memo noting Travis 'could seriously hurt someone' came a year before the beast went berserk and tore Nash's face apart and ripped off both her hands.
She says it is evidence the state should have seized the chimp.
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Nash asked lawmakers for permission to sue the state.
Attorney General George Jepsen says he has sympathy for Nash but the law does not support her claim.
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.
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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.
A cop at last shot Travis after the beast ripped open the door of the 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 two years prior.
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