Tommy Hastings

Tommy Hastings is a board-certified medical malpractice trial lawyer and founder of Hastings Law Firm. With 20+ years focused exclusively on med-mal cases nationwide, he’s secured multiple seven and eight-figure results against hospitals, drug companies, and negligent healthcare providers. He’s built a reputation for tenacious advocacy and taking on the toughest cases.

Board-Certified Medical Malpractice Attorney

Tommy Hastings is the founder of Hastings Law Firm and is a nationally recognized trial lawyer and one of the most trusted authorities on medical malpractice litigation in Texas. With over two decades of experience and a deep knowledge of medicine, Tommy has built a practice dedicated solely to representing victims of medical malpractice including cases involving surgical errors, birth injuries, hospital failures, and wrongful death.

Tommy was born and raised in rural Missouri and credits this upbringing for instilling the values of hard work, honesty, and empathy traits that continue to shape his legal philosophy to this day.

After earning his undergraduate degree from the University of Missouri, Tommy moved to Texas to attend the University of Houston Law Center, where he graduated with honors. Despite offers from big law firms that represented big business and insurance companies, Tommy decided that he only would represent people that needed help. Just three months after passing the bar exam, he secured a multi-million dollar jury verdict- and from that moment forward, he never looked back.

“I’ve never represented the powerful against the powerless, and I never will.” – Tommy Hastings, Founding Attorney

Personal injury trial attorney Tommy Hastings in a suit standing outside of a courtroom before a medical litigation case starts.

Tommy R. Hastings

Founder

A Calling for Medical Malpractice

In 2002, Tommy joined another respected Houston firm, where he developed a strong interest in medical malpractice litigation. Over the next several years, he tried numerous wrongful death and catastrophic injury cases, handled appeals, and developed a reputation as a rising legal talent. In 2004, Texas Magazine recognized him as one of the state’s “lawyers on the fast track.”

In 2005, Tommy founded Hastings Law Firm with a singular mission: to hold healthcare providers accountable and fight for patients whose lives were changed by preventable medical errors. His practice has grown into one of the most respected boutique med-mal firms in Texas, with offices in Houston, The Woodlands, Dallas, and Austin and cases spanning San Antonio, Corpus Christi, and communities across the state. In 2023, the firm expanded to Arizona and opened their first office in Phoenix.

The Heart of the Practice

Tommy believes that a great lawyer uses both head and heart. His legal strategy is guided by facts and experience but his passion for justice is fueled by empathy. He sees each case not as a file, but as a life forever altered.

“Cases aren’t won by the lawyer with the fanciest tie, but by the lawyer who works the hardest and cares the most.”

-Tommy Hastings, founding attorney

A Leader in Healthcare Law

Tommy is Board Certified in Personal Injury Trial Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization, a designation earned by less than 1% of attorneys. He has been voted a Texas Super Lawyer since 2013 and was inducted into the prestigious American Board of Trial Advocated in 2025. He is also a member of the Million Dollar & Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forums. Mr. Hastings has given lectures, seminars, and directed courses on various topics related to medical malpractice.

Board Certified Personal Injury Attorney Tommy Hastings sitting in a chair in his medical malpractice law firm office

Media Recognition & Client Trust

Tommy has been featured on CBS, NBC, ABC, FOX, Telemundo, and Univision, and has been quoted by the Houston Chronicle, Dallas Morning News, Austin American-Statesman, and ProPublica.

But despite his accolades, Tommy’s proudest moments come from hugs and handshakes of his clients. His rare ability to translate complex medical concepts into plain language is one of the many reasons juries and clients trust him.

A Proven Record of Results

Tommy has taken on some of the largest hospital systems, insurance carriers, and pharmaceutical companies in the country, often accepting cases that other firms considered too complex or too risky. His landmark verdict against a Texas pill mill operation was the first of its kind in the nation and directly contributed to changes in how negligent opioid prescribing is regulated. He and his team have handled cases involving every major private hospital system in Texas and Arizona, including Memorial Hermann, Houston Methodist, St. Luke’s Health, HCA Healthcare, Baylor Scott & White, Ternet Health, and many others.

Within the legal community, Tommy’s reputation precedes him. Defense attorneys and medical malpractice insurers know that when his name is on a case, the firm is prepared to take it all the way to a jury if that’s what it takes to reach a fair outcome.

Notable Cases

$19,750,000
Settlement
Failure to Diagnose

Tommy Hastings handled this case involving complex issues of cardiology, neurology, and pediatrics. The Plaintiff, a teenager, sustained a life altering brain injury after an undiagnosed cardiac condition caused him to go into cardiac arrest. The case involved defendants in multiple states and complex legal and medical issues. The recovery ensured that he and his family would have the financial security to manage his care for the rest of his life.
$17,385,000
Settlement
Products Liability

Tommy Hastings handled this high profile case involving over the counter medication that was contaminated with bacteria which caused the injury and death of several children nationwide. Tommy took the lead and was the only attorney to acquire significant settlements on behalf of his three clients. Following the resolution of all cases, Tommy continued working on the case as he worked closely with the FDA and Department of Justice to help secure a conviction of the CEO of one of the defendant companies. Tommy’s final action in the case was attending the sentencing hearing for the CEO with his clients as they spoke to the court about their loss. The court imposed the maximum penalty, thanks in large part to the bravery of these parents.
$10,000,000
Jury Verdict
Negligent Prescribing

Tommy Hastings handled this wrongful death case that was hailed by several media outlets as the first civil verdict in the country against a “pill mill”. The decedent was a veteran who was unable to make his appointment at the VA for his pain medication. He visited a local pain clinic and was prescribed medications that were double the strength of his regular medication. Unbeknownst to him, this clinic was only in the business of prescribing opiates for profit and did not use legitimate medical providers or standards. The decedent accidentally overdosed on the medication. Tommy agreed to represent the family and tirelessly uncovered a vast criminal conspiracy involving a physician, a sheriff’s deputy, and a medical recruiter. The jury found all of these parties responsible and assessed damages at $10,000,000 including punitive damages. The physician surrendered his license, the deputy resigned from the department and the recruiter was forced to sell everything to pay the judgment. The publicity from the case helped spur the passage of the first “pill mill” legislation in Texas.
$8,000,000
Settlement
Surgical Error

Tommy Hastings handled this case and secured a significant settlement for the family of a man that was injured in the intensive care unit following a simple surgery in a hospital. The settlement provided long term care needs for his client’s 24 hour care needs.
$8,000,000
Settlement
Birth Injury

Tommy Hastings handled this birth injury case that alleged nurses grossly mismanaged a young mother while she was giving birth to her first child. The child was born with significant needs as a result of the nurses failure to properly notify physicians that the baby was having trouble oxygenating during delivery.
$6,750,000
Settlement
Birth Injury

Tommy Hastings handled this complicated birth injury case that alleged nurses failed to properly assess a fetal monitor during labor and delivery of a first time mother. Their failures led to an hypoxic ischemic injury which caused cerebral palsy to the baby. Tommy secured a significant settlement on the case within 14 months that provides lifetime care for the baby.
$5,750,000
Settlement
Birth Injury

Tommy Hastings handled this medical malpractice case. The Plaintiff was pregnant with her first child when she went into labor. During labor, her fetal monitor showed signs of distress that were not reported to the physician on call. When the physician was finally notified of the distress, she delayed the C-section for over an hour which caused the baby to go without oxygen before birth. This delay caused the child to have hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy, a brain injury due to oxygen deprivation. The sweet girl was left with several physical and cognitive deficits. The case was settled prior to trial for an amount that provided for her lifelong needs.
$4,450,000
Jury Verdict
Hospital Malpractice

Tommy Hastings handled this case involving the failure to diagnose a brain infection. The Plaintiff presented to the hospital with signs and symptoms of a brain infection. However, the medical team decided that it was not an infection. Over the next 24 hours, he continued to deteriorate and the nursing staff did not notify the physicians of his decline. At shift change, an oncoming nurse became alarmed and immediately notified a new physician who rushed the man to surgery and saved his life. However, he was left with a serious brain injury due to the delay.
$3,650,000
Settlement
Failure to Diagnose

Tommy Hastings handled this medical malpractice case. The Plaintiff presented to the hospital with a brain infection known as a subdural empyema. Despite her condition, the physicians decided to attempt treatment only with antibiotics based on the recommendation of a neurosurgeon. Medical literature from the past fifty years unanimously recommends surgical drainage of the infection in these types of situations. The infection eventually got worse and the Plaintiff suffered a life altering stroke as a result of the poor decisions of the medical team. Suit was brought against the entire medical team and the hospital where the treatment occurred. The case settled before trial for an amount that enabled the Plaintiff to have her long term health and personal needs covered for life.
$3,500,000
Jury Verdict
Physician Negligence

Tommy Hastings handled this medical malpractice case. The Plaintiff was a Houston firefighter that presented to Kelsey Seybold Clinic for several weeks with complaints of pain and disability in his calf and lower leg. The Plaintiff was bounced from physician to physician at Kelsey Seybold for treatment of generic lumbar pain. The various physicians never considered any other diagnosis. The Plaintiff continued to get worse to the point that his foot turned cold, pale, and blue. The physicians still did not consider other diagnoses until a blood clot was finally discovered in the emergency room. By this point, the Plaintiff had suffered several neurological damage to his lower leg that resulted in a condition known as Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS). The Defendants chose to go to trial and after a three week jury trial, the Plaintiff received a verdict of 3,500,000 against Kelsey Seybold. After all appeals, the defendant was forced to pay the entire judgment, including every penny of interest.
$3,250,000
Settlement
Surgical Error

Tommy Hastings handled this medical malpractice case in which the Plaintiff underwent a sacral fusion surgery for hip and back pain. During the surgery, the physician negligently placed a pin too far and damaged the sacral nerves. Even worse, the physician left the pin in place for several days which caused irreversible nerve damage and a condition known as Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS). The firm turned down many seven figure offers to settle the case. On the morning of trial, the case settled far above the “best offer” as the jury was being selected.
Confidential
Settlement
Failure to Diagnose

Mr. Hastings handled this case in which the Plaintiff was seen by his primary care physician for a knot on his chest. The primary care physician sent him for an ultrasound, but not a mammogram. The radiologist read the ultrasound as a collection of fact with no concerns for cancer. Five years later, the Plaintiff was diagnosed with Stage 4 male breast cancer. The firm’s investigation determined that the radiologist had misread the ultrasound film and that a tumor should have been diagnosed. Further, the primary care physician should have ordered a mammogram, not an ultrasound as well as examined the area during visits over the next five years. The case was settled shortly before trial and a trust was created for the Plaintiff’s family for their needs. Unfortunately, the Plaintiff succumbed to his cancer months after the settlement. He was able to go with the peace of mind that his family was provided for after his passing.
Confidential
Settlement
Negligent Prescribing

Tommy Hastings handled this case in which the Plaintiff was temporarily prescribed Amiodarone to regulate her heart rhythm after recovering from a cardiac ablation procedure. The medication was intended to be prescribed for the short term. Unfortunately, the surgeon’s office never told the client to stop taking the medication and continued to refill it by phone for the next three years. Over time, the medication caused the client to develop pulmonary fibrosis, a severe and eventually fatal lung condition. The case was settled prior to trial for an amount that provided for the client’s medical and custodial care needs for several years.

Honors, Certifications & Leadership

Board Certified in Personal Injury Trial Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization
Texas Super Lawyers designee (2013-Present) and Rising Star honoree (2005-2010)
Million Dollar Advocates Forum & Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forum member (fewer than 1% of U.S. lawyers)
ABOTA (American Board of Trial Advocates) 2025 inductee
Course Director, State Bar of Texas 2024 Medical Torts Seminar
Published author and frequent CLE lecturer on medical malpractice law
Member of the Texas Trial Lawyers Association
Member of the Houston Trial Lawyers Association
Member of the Texas Bar and the Arizona Bar

Education and Bar Admissions

Bachelor’s degree from the University of Missouri
Graduated with honors from University of Houston Law Center, 2001
Texas Bar Admission, 2001
United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit (Fifth Circuit)
United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas

Social Media

For more information about Tommy Hastings visit:

No Win. No Fee! 877-269-4620