Family of sailor who died by suicide in brig appeals Navy’s denial of medical negligence claim

[Tony]

The parents of a junior sailor who killed himself in an Army jail after allegedly substandard mental health care by Navy providers are appealing the sea service’s denial of their multi-million-dollar medical negligence claim.

Attorneys for the parents of Aviation Boatswain’s Mate (Handling) Airman Macoy Hicks, 20, contend the Navy failed to follow the letter and spirit of the law in its “arbitrary and capricious” denial. The original claim, filed in January, alleged that Hicks received subpar mental healthcare from the Navy, and that Army jailers failed to properly care for him when they issued him a belt he used to take his life while confined for 25 days at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington, in February 2019.