Michael Danby

Michael is a senior solicitor within the national clinical negligence team based at Thompsons' London office. His expertise spans the entire spectrum of clinical negligence claims, with a particular focus on those of a more severe nature.

He has extensive experience in handling cases involving life-altering injuries stemming from birth-related events, such as brain injury, cerebral palsy, cauda equina syndrome, Erb's palsy, and wrongful birth claims due to antenatal shortcomings.

Michael's legal career began as a barrister before he was re-qualified as a solicitor, and he has specialised exclusively in acting only for the injured in clinical negligence litigation for nearly 25 years.

Respected in the field and by his peers for his commitment to his clients, Michael is tenacious and focused on enhancing the lives of his clients. He has obtained multi-million-pound awards on both lump sum and periodical payment order basis. Whenever possible, he will secure interim payments to implement rehabilitation packages as soon as possible.

Away from work, Michael enjoys walking, the cinema, theatre and live music. Whenever he can, he watches his football team, Tranmere Rovers, and follows the England Cricket team abroad.

Michael's case experience

• Liverpool Women's Hospital NHS Foundation Trust v Edward Ronayane 2015 EWCA Civ 588: Michael was the conducting solicitor in the secondary psychiatric victim case in which the Court of Appeal overturned the decision of the first instance judge to award damages.

• £1.725m following a misreporting of a cervical smear.

• £2.19m and a periodical payment Order commencing at £75,000 per year, increasing to £180,000 when the victim reached 19 years of age for a baby who suffered brain damage following mismanagement of resuscitation after birth.

• A lump sum of £2m plus periodical payments commencing at £83,700 per year, increasing to £187,200 at age 21 for a six-week-old girl who suffered a cerebral haemorrhage following a failure to diagnose and treat an aneurysm.

• £4.56m for a wrongful birth claim for caudal regression syndrome.

Professional memberships

Michael is recognised as a senior litigator by the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers (APIL) and is a Law Society clinical negligence panel member.

Testimonials

Michael Danby. A very good and experienced solicitor, who is plainly dedicated to looking after his clients and achieving the best possible outcomes for them. Michael uses his wealth of experience to great effect in making sound judgements, and acting efficiently in advancing cases in the best and most effective way.

Legal 500 2026

I have been very pleased with how Thompsons dealt with my claim. They were very sensitive to my situation and conducted investigations into my claim thoroughly and professionally. I was kept informed at every step of the negotiations and informed promptly when I was required to attend expert witness interviews. I could not have wished for a better advocate than Michael, and I am very pleased with the compensation he has achieved on my behalf.

Michael's former client

I would like to thank all of the staff at Thompsons Solicitors and in particular, Mr Michael Danby for their hard work and for the professionalism with which they have treated all aspects of my claim and for the outcome that they have achieved, which I could not have managed without their hard work and attention to detail.

Michael's former client