STAMFORD, Conn. -- The family of a Connecticut woman mauled by a chimpanzee last month has filed preliminary legal papers seeking $50 million in damages against the primate's owner.

Relatives of Charla Nash filed legal papers against Sandra Herold late Monday in Superior Court in Stamford. The papers are prelude to an expected lawsuit. They seek an accounting of Herold's assets and an order that would prevent her from liquidating assets.

Nash is being treated at the Cleveland Clinic. The hospital says the 55-year-old woman lost her hands, nose, lips and eyelids and may be blind and suffering brain damage after the Feb. 16 attack in Stamford.

The 200-pound chimp was shot and killed by police.

Herold did not immediately return a message seeking comment. Police are weighing whether to file criminal charges against her.