The death of a former Nevada National Guard sergeant has led to a wrongful death lawsuit filed by her mother against the state's National Guard. According to Gazettextra, the lawsuit, filed by Felicia Cavanagh of Washoe County, alleges that her daughter, Allison Bailey, was discharged without honor from the Guard and left without health care. The suit claims this action followed Bailey's report of a sexual assault by another soldier, which led to worsening health issues and ultimately her death two months after discharge. Bailey passed away on March 4, 2023.
According to a detailed report by the Las Vegas Review-Journal, the mother's lawsuit points to Bailey's discharge as "other than honorable" in January 2023, after which she was left without health care when she was in dire need of it. Her pre-existing conditions, including depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, and complications from alcohol abuse, were apparently exacerbated by the assault that occurred in 2020. The Guard had denied her request for medical retirement, even as her health declined.
Captain Emerson Marcus of the Nevada National Guard has countered, saying that Bailey’s discharge followed an internal investigation that found she created a hostile work environment, based on more than a dozen soldiers' allegations. "This is just a very tough situation, a tough story, a tough thing for us to look back on," Marcus told the Las Vegas Review-Journal. Despite the circumstances, an opportunity was given to rehabilitate Bailey's career before her discharge, Marcus added.
After the state police investigated the assault Bailey reported, with the results concluding that there wasn't enough evidence for prosecution, the accused soldier left the Guard voluntarily in January 2024, Marcus also explained, but whether his discharge was related to the allegations could not be confirmed by Marcus. Nathan Lawrence, the attorney representing Bailey's mother, highlighted the gravity of the situation by telling the Las Vegas Review-Journal, "Someone died here that didn’t need to die." He stressed the importance of the case being about more than just Bailey—it's about how the allegations of sexual assault she reported were allegedly met with retaliation or severe inattention.
The Department of Veterans Affairs states that approximately one in three female veterans report experiencing sexual harassment or assault during military service—a significant figure that shows the prevalence of military sexual trauma. The VA acknowledges on its website that such experiences come with long-term health effects. "The guard takes sexual assault very seriously," said Marcus, mentioning that protocol requires state police to investigate reports of assault. Bailey's case, now in legal contention, further spotlights the struggle of service members facing sexual assault allegations within a military framework, the outcomes of which seem to carry a tremendous personal cost.
