Grieving Manhasset Dad Pushes For Equity In Wrongful Death Case

MANHASSET, NY — If Ryan never got into that Uber on the evening of July 24, things would have been different.

His parents, Kurt and Nina Kiess, would've celebrated his 26th birthday last week and the family would've gotten together on Mother's Day.

But Ryan, of Manhasset, will never grow old or come home for the holidays. He was among five people killed last summer in a high-speed, head-on crash in Quogue, a sleepy village in the Hamptons. A Nissan Maxima was traveling west on Montauk Highway when it left its lane and slammed into a Toyota Prius heading east.

In the Prius, Ryan died along with his friends — 25-year-old James Farrell and 20-year-old Michael Farrell, both of Manhasset — and their Uber driver — 32-year-old Farhan Zahid of Bay Shore. Ryan's girlfriend of six years, Brianna Maglio, 22, of Garden City, was critically injured in the crash.

The driver who crashed into the Uber head-on, Justin Mendez, 22, was also killed.

Now, Ryan's father said he has begun advocating for new legislation that would bring some equity to grieving families who have lost loved ones in wrongful death cases. He is meeting with lawmakers and other families, including the McMorris family of Wading River, who lost their son Andrew, a Boy Scout who was killed by a drunk driver in 2018 while out on a hike; those left behind after the "horrific" Schoharie limo crash that left 20 dead; and the recent Bronx fire — to pass the Grieving Families Act in the New York State Senate and Assembly.

On Tuesday, the New York State Senate voted to move the measure out of the judicial committee and onto the floor for a vote, Kurt said. The bill is also waiting for a vote date on the Assembly floor.

A press event was held in Albany last week to urge lawmakers to move forward with passing the Grieving Families Act.

"Each year, New Yorkers are killed by drunk drivers, medical negligence, defective products, dangerous roadway conditions, and countless other acts and omissions," a release from the New York Public Interest Research Group read. "New York's 1847 Wrongful Death Law fails to deliver justice by not placing value on the loss of the love, affection, companionship, and comfort that New Yorkers are deprived of when a loved one's life is wrongfully taken."

Sponsored by State Sen. Brad Hoylman (D-Manhattan) and Assemblymember Helene Weinstein (D-Brooklyn), the Grieving Families Act is designed to "bring New York's pre-Civil War era wrongful death law in line with approximately 47 other states that already allow their courts to consider the full measure of lost relationships and the many states that recognize the grief that results from a life wrongfully taken."

The release also said that it will "expand those who can file a wrongful death lawsuit to include close family members — for example, domestic partners — who experience the same sense of loss and pain and yet are barred from pursuing any accountability against the wrongdoer."

As of this posting, there are 50 bipartisan co-sponsors of the bill in the Senate and 66 in the Assembly.

"No amount of money can replace a father, a daughter, a sibling, a domestic partner, or a spouse — but financial compensation for family members grieving a loved one's wrongful death is a necessary accountability tool," Hoylman said.

Weinstein, who has been fighting to change the state's Wrongful Death Law for nearly 30 years, added that it has had a disproportionate effect on women, children, and senior citizens, as it "(values) their lives at a fraction of the worth of others."

Kurt reflected on his family's unspeakable loss, saying his son's death was entirely preventable.

"In July 2021, I lost my son. Ryan had done everything right. Planning a night out dancing with friends, they all took an Uber to be safe," he said. "It was the worst moment of my life and I'm still learning how to cope with the loss of Ryan. His death was entirely preventable and yet, like so many others who are tragically and wrongfully taken, his life is worth nothing in the state of New York."

He added: "This is not an attempt to make money off of loss. If I could trade all the money in the world to get Ryan back, I would. I'm sure other families who have suffered a similar loss would agree with me. But there is a true problem in our system when a pair of twins — one a millionaire and one of modest means — can both die in the same accident and the wealthier one is 'worth more' in the eyes of the law. Don't both their families feel the same anguish? Don't their children experience the same loss? Why then is it acceptable to tell one family that their tragedy is worth more or less than another's?"

Kurt also said he believes the current Wrongful Death Law does nothing but perpetuate inequality statewide. Those who are the most harshly impacted — seniors, women and people of color — are already "systemically underpaid, overworked and undervalued," he said.

"Take, for example, the horrible fire in the Bronx earlier this year that killed 17 people — eight of whom were children. If there is negligence found, as has been alleged by the surviving family members, the victims will be valued by their lost earnings alone. For many of them, including the children who perished, that valuation will effectively be $0," Kurt said.

Wading River's Alisa McMorris, who lost her son, Boy Scout Andrew McMorris, is also advocating tirelessly for change.

"What is your child's life worth? How does one grapple with the long-term effects of pain and suffering due to a tragic loss of life when it was 100 percent preventable?"

Reflecting on that dark day, she said: "When our dear sweet boy was struck and killed by a drunk driver, our world came crashing down. Just taking a breath was painful. It was as if we were caught in a hurricane in a little boat that was broken into a million little pieces, and we were clinging to the floating wreckage. Waves stuck us constantly and we could barely catch our breath. As the years have gone by, we have slowly and steadily tried to rebuild our boat. With the help of our friend's family and community, we have patched together something to allow us to go from parenting Andrew to parenting his legacy."

However, she said she and her family were shocked to find that "New York State does not value Andrew's life — at 12 years old, the law that was written in the 1800s doesn't account for pain, suffering, loss, and other damages of those who loved him most."

When Andrew was taking his last breaths and the heart monitor went to a steady flatline tone, McMorris turned to the nurse and asked if she could clean him.

"My husband and I were the first to give him his bath on March 30, 2006, and on October 1 in the 4:00 a.m. hour, we washed him for the last time. I examined every little piece of my boy from his little toes all the way to his eyelashes. I placed his body into the body bag, took one fine listen to his heart to make sure he was truly gone, I cradled his face and as my tears fell on his cheeks, I promised him I would make a change so his death would not be in vain. So we fight for the Grieving Families Act so that other families do not have to hear these words: 'I'm sorry your child is just not worth anything in the eyes of New York State.'"

The McMorris family has also joined forces with Mothers Against Drunk Driving to change vehicular laws both nationally and statewide, so that no other family has to endure this kind of loss to drunk and drugged driving.

Next week, Andrew's mother will be in Albany again urging legislatures to support a bill to improve the ignition interlock and fix loopholes that allow convicted drunk drivers to avoid this necessary device. She will also push for a measure that would make 0.05 blood alcohol the illegal level to drive on state roadways.

According to the New York State Academy of Trial Lawyers, the Grieving Families Act will align New York with 41 other states so that those who lost loved ones to untimely, wrongful death can recover monetary damages. Currently, New York families can receive damages and compensation commensurate with what the deceased would have earned, had they lived — but there is no recourse for families that have lost a child or an elderly relative, or if the deceased was a low-wage earner.

"New York's Civil War-era wrongful death law denies any recovery for the emotional loss close surviving family members experience when a loved one is tragically killed," the New York State Academy of Trial Lawyers said. "This antiquated law significantly disadvantages low-wage earners, people of color, children, and the elderly."

Elizabeth and Joseph Muldoon spoke out for Adam Jackson and Abigail King Jackson, lost in the Schoharie limousine crash.

"October 6, 2018, was like every other Saturday. We were spending the day with our granddaughters. Little did we know, it would become a parent's worst nightmare," they said. "On that day, my son, daughter-in law, and many of their friends lost their lives. That was the day, our two precious granddaughters 16 months and 4 years old at the time, lost their mommy and daddy, three aunts, a godfather, and two uncles . . . Their parents matter, people's lives matter — and when taken wrongfully, it is worth something. The people lost cannot speak, so we need to do so for them."

State Sen. Anthony Palumbo (R-New Suffolk), a co-sponsor who voted to move the measure forward, told Patch: "For too long this bill has languished in the state legislature with New York lagging behind other states in providing grieving families the right to recover for lost ones. I was pleased to see this legislation advance out of committee today and look forward to its passage by the legislature and enactment this year."