Intern Can’t Sue Oregon Chimpanzee Sanctuary

The Oregon Court of Appeals says an intern whose thumb was bitten off by a chimpanzee can’t sue the Chimps Inc. sanctuary because she signed a liability waiver.

The appeals court on Wednesday affirmed a Deschutes County Circuit court decision that Kristen M. Howard cannot go forward with the $828,000 lawsuit she filed.

The Oregonian reports Howard was an anthropology student in 2008 when she took an internship at the Tumalo nonprofit. It requires interns not to sue or even talk about their experiences at the sanctuary that provides a home for chimps that once lived in roadside zoos or worked in the entrainment industry.

Howard was cleaning a cage when she was attacked by a chimp named Kimie that found a way back into the cage.