She had her face ripped off by the chimpanzee her boss owned and now Charla Nash has won a US$4 million payment. The agreement (which is around £2.4 million) and is in sharp contrast to the US$50 Nash wanted in damages because of the constant care and supervision she requires at the nursing home where she now lives.
This footage - courtesy of America’s Today programme - documents Charla Nash’s painstaking recovery. She lost her nose, ears, eyelids, lips and both hands in a severe mauling back in 2009 by Travis the chimp, who lived at her boss Sandra Herold’s home in Stamford, Connecticut. Nash was also blinded in the attack. Travis was a performing animal who’d appeared in adverts for Coca-Cola and Old Navy. He was shot dead when he tried to attack an officer when police arrived at the scene.
Charla spoke to NBC before a ground-breaking face transplant.
Now in recovery with her family by her side, Charla’s also due to have hand transplant surgery soon. According to her brother, the $4 million will only cover a small fraction of Nash's medical costs. The money comes from Herold’s estate because she died two years ago. The estate lawyers reckon it’s a fair deal.
