Story highlights A friend's pet chimp mauled Charla Nash in 2009

The state should've removed the chimp years ago, her attorney says

There are no grounds for suing Connecticut, officials say

Travis the chimp had appeared in TV commercials for Coca-Cola and Old Navy

A Connecticut woman who had her face destroyed by a friend's pet chimpanzee was denied permission Friday to sue the state for $150 million, according to the Office of the Claims Commissioner.

The state had the authority to remove the chimp from its owner years ago, but neglected to, an attorney for Charla Nash argued. The attack left Nash without a nose, eyelids, lips or hands, said attorney Matthew Newman.

The attack occurred in 2009 in Stamford, Connecticut, as Nash tried to help a friend coax her 14-year-old pet chimp back into the house. Travis the chimp, which had appeared in television commercials for Coca-Cola and Old Navy, jumped on Nash and began biting and mauling her. Police later fatally shot Travis to stop the attack.

Nash filed a claim in November 2009, seeking permission to sue Connecticut's Department of Energy and Environmental Protection for damages, Claims Commissioner J. Paul Vance Jr. said in a memorandum of decision.

Though officials sympathize with Nash, a regulatory statute does not provide a basis to sue the state, according to Jaclyn Falkowski, spokeswoman for the Office of the Attorney General.

"To decide otherwise would mean that the state simply could not afford to pass regulations intended to promote order and safety," she said in a statement.

Photos: Photos: Face transplant patients Photos: Photos: Face transplant patients Face transplant patients – Connie Culp was injured when her husband shot her in 2004. She underwent a near-total face transplant at the Cleveland Clinic in 2008 -- the first operation of its kind in the United States. Hide Caption 1 of 7 Photos: Photos: Face transplant patients Face transplant patients – James Maki fell onto the electrified third rail at a Boston subway station on June 30, 2005, destroying the entire of the core of his face. Now after having a transplant, he's in the process of getting eight false teeth implanted in his mouth and a new set of dentures. He says he can't wait to eat a rib-eye steak. Hide Caption 2 of 7 Photos: Photos: Face transplant patients Face transplant patients – Dallas Wiens lost almost his entire face from burns in 2008. He underwent the first full facial transplant in the country in 2011. Hide Caption 3 of 7 Photos: Photos: Face transplant patients Face transplant patients – Mitch Hunter suffered significant injury after a car accident in 2001. After a face transplant, he now has near-normal sensation, and his speech has continued to improve. Hide Caption 4 of 7 Photos: Photos: Face transplant patients Face transplant patients – Charla Nash was mauled by a friend's chimpanzee and underwent a face transplant in May 2011 at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston. Hide Caption 5 of 7 Photos: Photos: Face transplant patients Face transplant patients – Richard Norris had a gun accident in 1997, and wore a surgical mask for 15 years to hide his face from the world. He is shown, left, in high school in 1993; center, after the gunshot injury; right, after face transplant surgery. Hide Caption 6 of 7 Photos: Photos: Face transplant patients Face transplant patients – Carmen Blandin Tarleton became disfigured after her estranged husband doused her with industrial-strength lye. After a face transplant, she says she's "thrilled" and has a new goal: to kiss her boyfriend. Hide Caption 7 of 7

Two years after the attack, Nash became the third person to receive a full face transplant at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston. Doctors also attached two new hands, but they had to remove them a few days later after she fell ill.

Nash is now considering her next step, her attorney said.

"Our only option is to ask the Connecticut General Assembly to review the claim commissioner's decision," Newman said.

Family spokesman Ara Chekmayan said: "We feel that the state Department of Environmental Protection failed to protect Charla from a known danger and today she has been denied the right to seek compensation for the catastrophic and irreversible damage inflicted upon her."