Nash Family Wants Photographs Sealed

STAMFORD, Conn. -- Attorneys for a Connecticut woman mauled by a chimpanzee are asking a judge to seal photos of the victim and her medical records from the public.Matt Newman, an attorney for the conservator of Charla Nash, said Nash's right to privacy overrides the public's right to see the photos."Our primary concern is Ms. Nash's 17-year-old daughter," Nash's attorney said. "The pictures are extremely graphic. It's not something we think is psychologically healthy for her.

"Attorneys for the chimp's owner and Nash will argue their sides of the issue at a hearing later this month. The photos and records will be evidence in Nash's $50 million lawsuit against chimp owner Sandra Herold.Nash's family decided to sue the chimp's owner, Sandra Herold, a month after the incident. Attorneys for the Nash family said the case could expand to include the state and city of Stamford.A woman who identified herself only as a member of the public said during the hearing that the pictures and other information should be made public because "in this case there is the potential for taxpayers to be on the hook. The plaintiff's family has freely talked about it in the media." Herold's attorneys did not object to the request, and Stamford Superior Court Judge Edward R. Karazin, Jr. scheduled an April 27 hearing to discuss the request.Herold did not make an appearance at the first hearing in the civil case on Monday. Her attorneys claim the case is going to show that the incident was an accident and nothing was intentional.Herold's attorneys have said that before this incident, "no injuries were ever reported, and it's believed that Travis did not even have teeth at this point." Doctors at Ohio's Cleveland Clinic said Nash lost her hands, nose, lips and eyelids in the Feb. 16 attack. She will be blind for life and faces two years of surgical procedures. The 200-pound chimp, named Travis, was shot and killed by police."


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