ABOUT CHRISTOPHER J. MARZZACCO
Mr. Marzzacco’s practice is concentrated in automobile, motorcycle and tractor trailer case litigation, including Wrongful Death and Survival actions. Mr. Marzzacco also represents persons seriously injured or killed in premises liability cases, work accidents, dangerous and defective products and civil rights matters.
Mr. Marzzacco has been rated by his peers in “The Best Lawyers in America” and in “Super Lawyers” every year since 2017. Mr. Marzzacco has lectured and planned Continuing Legal Education seminars, presenting on various topics and has written on a variety of topics relating to personal injury law, automobile law and automobile insurance issues for the Legal Intelligencer and other publications.
Over his career, Marzzacco has secured exceptional recoveries for his clients in past auto and tractor trailer accident cases, including settlements of
- $2.15 million,
- $1.85 million,
- $1.625 million,
- $1.5 million,
- $1.015 million,
- and $1 million.
In 2021 alone, Marzzacco obtained results of $1,600,000.00 for a young man who was severely injured when a tractor trailer ran his car off the roadway; $1,400,000.00 for the mother of a man killed by a tractor trailer in a motorcycle crash; $800,000.00 for a commercial driver client seriously injured by a freight-loading company who improperly loaded his tractor trailer, causing the freight to fall on him; $1,100,000.00 for a teenager hurt in a school-related vehicle crash; and $950,000.00 for a child injured in a cemetery incident; and $825,000.00 for the family of a man killed by a drunk driver in a motorcycle crash.
Marzzacco was also co-lead counsel of the legal team responsible for representing a Philadelphia man who was wrongfully convicted of murder and incarcerated for over 24 years. After years of litigation, the case resulted in a settlement in 2021 with the City of Philadelphia, of $5,650,000.00. In his career, Marzzacco has also obtained multiple other confidential, multimillion-dollar mediation settlements in cases involving dangerous and defective products.
From 2001 – 2010, Mr. Marzzacco served on York County’s panel of Arbitrators in general civil litigation cases and from 2011-2012 and 2017-2018, was appointed Chairman of an Arbitration Panel in Dauphin County. Marzzacco is a member of several Trial Lawyers’ groups, including the Pennsylvania Association for Justice (PAJ), where he currently serves on the Middle District Board of Governors; the American Association for Justice (AAJ), as a member of the Trucking Litigation Group; and the Dauphin and Cumberland County Bar Associations, having served on the Board of Directors in Dauphin County from 2019-2020 and currently serving as the CLE Board Chairperson.
Mr. Marzzacco has taught trial advocacy at Widener University School of Law’s Intensive Trial Advocacy Program (ITAP) from 2001 to 2016 and 2022 and has coached trial teams for Widener University’s Mock Trial program as well. Marzzacco currently serves law school on the Dean’s Advisory Committee.
From 2011-2017, Mr. Marzzacco was involved with “EndDD.org,” traveling across Pennsylvania giving presentations to high school students and encouraging them to drive without distraction.
Originally from Carbondale, a small town in Northeastern Pennsylvania, Mr. Marzzacco earned his law degree in 1996 from Widener University School of Law and received his undergraduate degree from Wilkes University in 1993. Chris and his wife Jennifer have lived in the Harrisburg area since 1996.
AREAS OF PRACTICE
- Motor Vehicle Accidents
- Tractor Trailer Crashes
- Wrongful Death
- Premises Liability
- Work Accidents
- Dangerous & Defective Products
- Civil Rights
BAR ADMISSIONS
- Pennsylvania, 1996
- Federal, Middle District of Pennsylvania, 2004
- Federal, Eastern District of Pennsylvania, 2015
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, 2018
EDUCATION
- Widener University School of Law, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, J.D.
- Wilkes University, Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, B.A.
PUBLISHED WORKS
- “7 Fatal Mistakes Victims of Accidents Make in PA and How to Avoid Making Them,” 2010
- “Highly Automated Vehicles in Pa.: Where Are We and Where Are We Headed?,” Legal Intelligencer, October 12, 2007
- “Hot-button Issues Affecting Distracted-Driving Motor Vehicle Litigation,” Legal Intelligencer, July 7, 2016
- “Ethical Pitfalls for Lawyers to Avoid in Personal Injury Cases,” Legal Intelligencer, January 9, 2015
- “Premises Liability Claims That Occur on Recreational Areas,” Legal Intelligencer, August 9, 2013
- “Keeping Clients Happy Under the Rules of Professional Responsibility and in the Real World,” Legal Intelligencer, March 8, 2013
- “Talking ‘Tort Reform’ to the Public as Trial Lawyers,” Legal Intelligencer, September 7, 2011
CLASSES/SEMINARS
- Personal Injury Law Conference, Course Planning Committee, Pennsylvania Bar Institute, 2018-present
- Ethics for General Practitioners When Handling Personal injury Cases, Pennsylvania Bar Institute, 2012
- Over the Top Settlements: How to Develop, Present and Settle for Maximum Value, Pennsylvania Bar Institute, 2013
- Distracted Driving: Representing the Plaintiff in a Civil Case, Pennsylvania Bar Institute, 2016
- The Changing Landscape of Distracted Driving: The Science and the Law, Pennsylvania Association for Justice (PAJ), Summer 2016
- Liability and Insurance Coverage for Highly-automated Vehicular Crashes, PennDot/Department of Community and Economic Development, 2017
- Ethical Pitfalls and How to Avoid them in Personal Injury Cases, Dauphin County Bar Association, 2012
- Representing Injured Workers in Motor Vehicle Cases, Dauphin County Bar Association, 2014
- Litigating Catastrophic Injury Cases, Pennsylvania Bar Institute 2015
- Case Selection, Evaluation and Investigation, Pennsylvania Bar Institute, 2014
- Handling Complex Personal Injury Cases, Anapol Weiss, Scranton, PA, 2014
- Student Awareness Initiative: End Distracted Driving, EndDD.org, 2013 to 2016
- Distracted Driving Prevention for Commercial Drivers, EndDD.org, 2016
- Negotiations in Personal Injury Cases, Guest Lecturer, Widener University School of Law, 2013
- Intensive Trial Advocacy Program, Instructor, Widener University School of Law, 2001 to 2016
- Professional Responsibility, Guest Lecturer, Widener University Commonwealth Law School, 2020
HONORS AND AWARDS
- Super Lawyers: 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024.
- The Best Lawyers in America: 2017-2022
PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATIONS AND MEMBERSHIPS
- Pennsylvania Association for Justice, Member; Board of Governors, 2021-present
- Widener Commonwealth Law School, Dean’s Advisory Committee, 2019-present
- Pennsylvania Bar Association, Member
- Dauphin County Bar Association, Member; Board of Directors, 2019-2020
- Dauphin County Bar Association Arbitration Panel, Chair, 2011-2012; 2017-2018
- Cumberland County Bar Association, Social Member
- York County’s Panel of Arbitrators, Member 2001-2010
- American Association for Justice (AAJ), Member; Trucking Litigation Group, 2018-present
- Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forum
PAST EMPLOYMENT POSITIONS
- Anapol Weiss, Partner, 2011 – 2017
- Colgan Marzzacco, Co-owner, 2008 – 2010
- Wiley, Lenox, Colgan & Marzzacco, Partner, 1999 – 2008
- Dauphin County District Attorney’s Office, Deputy D. A., 1997 – 1999
