Best Nursing Home Neglect Lawyers in Austin, TX (2026)
To rank Austin nursing home neglect lawyers for 2026, this evidence-based list weighs practice focus and published results alongside client reviews and professional standing.
Because Hastings Law Firm focuses on malpractice and publishes results, it leads this list, though it doesn't label those results as nursing home cases. Before calling, find out who takes neglect claims and where meetings happen. Review the filing rules in our Texas law guide, and ask about fees, too.
4.5143 Google reviewsRated 4.5 out of 5 on Google from 143 reviews
Best for: Families seeking a malpractice-focused firm
Among Hastings Law Firm's published results are a $19,750,000 failure-to-diagnose settlement and a $10,700,000 negligent-prescribing jury verdict. The firm doesn't label either a nursing home recovery. Founder Tommy Hastings established the firm in 2005, and its site also discusses nursing home neglect.
Stood out in our review for how much of its work is medical malpractice and the results it publishes.
We order firms by how much of their work is medical malpractice, the results they publish, what their clients say, their experience, their standing with the regulator and the recognition they have earned, all from public records and the firms' own sites. How lists are made
4.482 Google reviewsRated 4.4 out of 5 on Google from 82 reviews
Best for: Facility safety and serious injury claims
In a case Winckler, Harvey & McConnell, LLP publishes, a patient suffered a hip fracture because a facility failed to keep the patient safe. Because of that case, the firm belongs here. Although it gives no recovery amounts, it also describes cases where a patient died after staff delayed communicating about a post-operative complication.
Stood out in our review for the recognition it has earned and how much of its work is medical malpractice.
We order firms by how much of their work is medical malpractice, the results they publish, what their clients say, their experience, their standing with the regulator and the recognition they have earned, all from public records and the firms' own sites. How lists are made
4.9367 Google reviewsRated 4.9 out of 5 on Google from 367 reviews
Best for: Families prioritizing responsive communication
McMinn Law Firm's clients repeatedly describe responsive service and patient explanations of their cases. Its Google rating is 4.9 across 367 reviews. That gives the communication feedback more context than a few comments would, but the reviews don't establish nursing home case outcomes.
Stood out in our review for the recognition it has earned and what its clients say.
We order firms by how much of their work is medical malpractice, the results they publish, what their clients say, their experience, their standing with the regulator and the recognition they have earned, all from public records and the firms' own sites. How lists are made
Not sure who to call first?
Tell us what happened. A malpractice lawyer who serves Austin can look at it with you, and it costs nothing.
4.9247 Google reviewsRated 4.9 out of 5 on Google from 247 reviews
Best for: Spanish-speaking families seeking a trial team
Among Zinda Law Group's listed languages is Spanish. Alongside lead trial attorneys Rudwin Ayala and Max Massey, the named team includes founder John C. (Jack) Zinda and partner Neil Solomon. While its Austin office handles a broad personal injury practice, the firm's site also discusses nursing home neglect.
Stood out in our review for the recognition it has earned and what its clients say.
We order firms by how much of their work is medical malpractice, the results they publish, what their clients say, their experience, their standing with the regulator and the recognition they have earned, all from public records and the firms' own sites. How lists are made
4.8120 Google reviewsRated 4.8 out of 5 on Google from 120 reviews
Best for: Spanish-speaking families considering neglect claims
Hayden Briggle and Parker Polan are named as founders and attorneys by Briggle & Polan, PLLC. Although the Austin firm's injury practice is much broader, it lists nursing home abuse and medical malpractice, and its site also discusses wrongful death. Spanish also appears among the firm's listed languages.
Stood out in our review for the recognition it has earned and what its clients say.
We order firms by how much of their work is medical malpractice, the results they publish, what their clients say, their experience, their standing with the regulator and the recognition they have earned, all from public records and the firms' own sites. How lists are made
When explaining what happened, give the lawyer the treatment dates. Without a general discovery rule, Texas generally sets a 2-year filing deadline. To understand how that clock applies to the resident's care, speak with a Texas lawyer.
Review the records
Which nursing home and hospital records would the lawyer need? Before proceeding, discuss how the firm would review the care and get a medical opinion, including whether it can prepare the expert report required for a health care liability claim.
File the complaint
Once the lawyer agrees to pursue your claim, the court case begins when the complaint is filed. Filing must happen by the applicable deadline. Unless the child is under 12 and can file until the fourteenth birthday, Texas applies the 2-year rule regardless of age.
Serve the expert report
Within 120 days after each defendant files an answer, Texas requires an expert report and CV for that defendant. If you miss that requirement, you face fees and dismissal with prejudice, meaning you can't file the claim again.
Work toward resolution
Ask how settlement or trial might resolve the claim. While Texas caps non-economic damages in health care liability claims, death cases carry a separate inflation-indexed cap on total damages. Ask your lawyer how those caps would affect your claim.
Malpractice claims in Austin: the rules that matter
The filing deadline in Texas
The clock startsOn the day of the treatment
Time to start a claim2 yearsMiss it and the claim is usually lost.
At the very most10 yearsafter the treatment, with a few exceptions
Limits on damages in Texas
Pain and sufferingCapped at $250,000
All damages togetherNo overall cap
Expert paperworkServe an expert report and CV for each defendant within 120 days after that defendant's answer is filed; failure leads to dismissal with prejudice and fees.
A written agreementThe share the lawyer takes, set out before work starts.
If you recover moneyThe agreed share and the case costs come out of it.
If the claim failsNo legal fee on a contingency agreement. Ask about costs.
When Five listed firms say they work on contingency, they mean the lawyer takes part of a recovery but charges no lawyer's fee if the claim fails. A free consultation is offered by all. Separate from the lawyer's fee, case expenses can cover records and medical opinions, along with court fees. Although the firms state those terms, they don't identify who advances expenses or who must pay them if the claim doesn't succeed. Before discussing deductions, ask who pays those costs and when. Before signing the written agreement, have the firm explain how it calculates the lawyer's share and put those answers in writing.
According to each of the six listed firms, there's no charge for a consultation. Contingency work is also offered by Five.
What to bring to your first call
If you have them, the resident's care records and the nursing home chart
Treatment and hospital stay dates, along with when you suspect neglect occurred
Names of the care providers involved and the facility's name
Records from the hospital about the injury
Records of related expenses, including medical bills
Messages or letters you've received from the facility or insurer
Photos of care conditions or the injury
What happened, written as a brief timeline
Questions to ask a lawyer
1When handling nursing home neglect, how many cases like this have you taken?
2Who would handle our file, including reviewing the chart?
3For this resident's care, when must we file?
4To get the required expert report, what would you do?
5When calculating your contingency fee, what do you use?
6If our claim fails, who pays the case expenses?
7When we need updates or answers, how would you respond?
8With Texas damage caps, how might our claim be affected?
Choose around the resident's care, not the rating alone
Start by telling the lawyer which care problem you want investigated. Name the facility, then explain what happened and when it happened. Rather than relying on the firm's general injury practice, ask which similar nursing home claims its lawyers have handled. Although several firms here list neglect, most don't publish malpractice results.
What your family's claim might recover isn't something a large verdict in another medical case can tell you. Before reviewing the resident's chart, what does the lawyer need to learn? Also ask how the firm would get a medical opinion. Rather than forecasting a recovery, let published results help you decide what to ask.
Find out who will do the work
Who would contact you and review your claim? For each person involved, ask whether they're an attorney or another staff member.
When you have a question about the chart or a hospital letter, whom should you call, and how will updates arrive?
Confirm the meeting location. Hastings Law Firm's office is listed in Dallas, outside Austin; the other listed offices are in Austin.
When reading reviews, look for service questions you should ask. While McMinn Law Firm's clients praise patient explanations, Zinda Law Group's reviews include praise for communication and complaints about follow-up. Whether you have a legally viable claim isn't answered by either. Before committing, ask the firm to walk you through its process in plain language.
Get the financial terms in writing
According to every listed firm, its consultation is free. Although you can discuss the claim without paying for that consultation, the offer doesn't set terms for later work. Ask for its fee agreement. Read its case-expense terms before you put your signature on it.
According to Five listed firms, they work on contingency. Before checking whether expenses come out before or after the fee calculation, ask what share of any recovery the lawyer would take. If a firm promises an outcome or won't explain costs, treat that as a warning sign. Because Texas requires an expert report for each defendant in a health care liability claim, ask how the firm would prepare for that deadline and expense.
Questions people ask
How soon should an Austin family call a nursing home neglect lawyer?
When concerns arise, call rather than waiting to collect every record. You generally must file in Texas within 2 years of the breach or completion of treatment or hospitalization. These claims don't have a general discovery rule. To find out how the deadline applies to your family's situation, have a Texas lawyer review the relevant dates with you.
Does discovering neglect later give us more time to file?
That's not something to count on. Because Texas has no general discovery rule for these health care liability claims, learning of neglect later doesn't ordinarily start the clock again. Alongside that deadline, the statute sets a 10-year outer limit (the statute of repose). You can't use that limit as permission to miss the applicable filing deadline. Promptly ask a Texas lawyer to check the dates.
Can we speak to a lawyer without paying for the first consultation?
According to all six listed firms, there's no consultation charge. When Five say they also work on contingency, that means the lawyer takes a fee from a recovery but no lawyer's fee if the claim fails. Because expenses are separate, the firms may handle them differently. Before you hire, ask for written fee terms and an explanation of those costs.
What does Texas require from a medical expert?
For each defendant in a health care liability claim, you need an expert report and the expert's CV under Texas law. After that defendant files an answer, you have 120 days to serve them. If you miss that requirement, dismissal with prejudice and fees follow. Before proceeding, ask how the firm would get the report and monitor each defendant's deadline.
Which listed firm has published a facility-safety case?
A patient suffered a hip fracture after a facility failed to keep the patient safe, according to Winckler, Harvey & McConnell, LLP. For that case, it doesn't publish a recovery amount. Although Hastings Law Firm publishes substantial malpractice results, the firm doesn't label those results as nursing home recoveries. When speaking with either firm, ask about cases involving care problems like your loved one's.
How long will a nursing home neglect claim take?
None of the listed firms gives a dependable timeframe for a claim like yours. Briggle & Polan, PLLC's reviews describe mixed experiences with case speed. One family's review can't set another family's schedule, though. Ask what steps your claim needs and what might delay them, then discuss how the lawyer will report progress.
Are there different filing rules when the injured resident is a child?
In Texas, these claims can be filed until the fourteenth birthday if a child is under 12. Regardless of age, the 2-year rule applies otherwise. A child's claim shouldn't be assumed to wait until adulthood. To learn which deadline applies, ask a Texas lawyer to look at the child's age and the dates of treatment.
What should we ask if our loved one died after suspected neglect?
When telling the lawyer about the suspected neglect and your loved one's death, include the dates of care. Wrongful death appears on several listed firms' sites. For death cases, Texas sets a separate inflation-indexed cap on total damages. Before discussing how that cap might affect the claim, ask a Texas lawyer who can bring it and which deadline applies.
Do Texas damage caps mean there is no point pursuing a claim?
Whether a claim is worth pursuing can't be decided from the cap alone. While Texas caps non-economic damages in health care liability cases, it sets a separate inflation-indexed cap on total damages in death cases. Before weighing what the claim might recover against its expenses, have the lawyer explain those limits in plain language. Your recovery isn't predicted by a firm's published results.
What should we bring if we don't have the nursing home chart yet?
Even without the chart, bring records you have, including treatment dates and the facility's name, along with hospital records or letters tied to the injury. If you write a short timeline, your concern may be easier to explain. Before gathering more, ask which missing records the lawyer needs and how to obtain them. Discuss the deadline without waiting to get the full chart.
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