Mike D’Amico loves mysteries. He has since childhood.
“If I wasn't reading mysteries, I was watching mysteries. I probably watched them all, whether it was ‘Matlock’ or ‘Barnaby Jones’ or ‘Perry Mason’ or ‘Baretta’ or ‘Hawaii Five-O,’ you name it,” he says.
He often thought about becoming a detective, much like many of his heroes. But with a passion for helping people and a mother who said his arguing skills might make for a great lawyer, “well before my teenage years, I decided that this is the path I would like to go down, and I've never changed that,” he says.
That love of solving puzzles still underpins his legal practice – and it’s helped shape D’Amico Pettinicchi into one of Connecticut’s most respected personal injury boutiques.
D’Amico opened D’Amico Pettinicchi Injury Lawyers in 1990, just four years after graduating law school. From the outset, he built what colleagues describe as “a thinking lawyer’s trial shop” – an intentionally small, intensely focused plaintiffs’ firm built around the complementary strengths of its core trial team: D’Amico, Tom Pettinicchi and D’Amico’s son, Jeremy D’Amico, along with medical malpractice lawyer Christine Norton. Together, they handle serious or catastrophic personal injury, medical malpractice, nursing home abuse and wrongful death cases throughout Connecticut, securing some of the largest verdicts in the state’s history.
Clients and fellow lawyers alike note the firm’s distinctive model: meticulous case investigation combined with hands-on partner attention. “We want to make sure that the path we chose to go down back in 1990 is the path we’re still paving,” D’Amico says.
He approaches litigation with a quiet command, backed by a methodical eye, a detective’s curiosity and a deep compassion for the people who come to him in crisis. He has devoted his career to personal injury law, with a defining emphasis on nursing home abuse and neglect.
Known for reshaping how Connecticut views nursing home cases, D’Amico recalls that early in his practice, such cases were dismissed as low-value and impractical.
“It was often thought that claims on behalf of older people did not have a sufficient legal value because life expectancy was low and health concerns were rampant,” he says.
That attitude troubled him. “It just didn't seem right that if somebody were to be the victim of negligence in a nursing home, that simply because they were older and they were suffering from various medical problems, that their voice shouldn't be heard,” he explains.
So he took the opposite approach. The firm became one of the first in the state to treat these cases as the serious civil rights matters they are. “Nursing home residents have reached a time in their lives where they have put all of themselves into their families and their career,” D’Amico says. “Now this is the latter stage of their life, and they deserve to be taken care of.”
Over time, D’Amico helped pioneer the field. Colleagues credit him with elevating the legal standards and expectations for these claims statewide. Lawyers describe him as “a driving force behind Connecticut’s modern nursing home litigation practice,” known for his scholarly writing, strategic insight and willingness to teach others. As D’Amico puts it, “You can’t do it all yourself,” so he has long supported the expansion of the field to ensure more residents’ rights are protected.
'Nursing home residents have reached a time in their lives where they have put all of themselves into their families and their career,' D’Amico says. 'Now this is the latter stage of their life, and they deserve to be taken care of.'
Beyond nursing home litigation, he maintains a high-stakes personal injury practice across medical malpractice, work injuries and motor vehicle accidents. His results include a $6.7M jury verdict for a woman struck by a tractor-trailer and a $23M verdict – one of the largest in state history – for a young autistic client who suffered a traumatic brain injury when a school bus crashed. He tried the case alongside his son Jeremy.
This July, he and Jeremy also secured a record-breaking $45M verdict for a young Marine reservist paralyzed in a motorcycle collision. It is believed to be the largest motorcycle verdict in Connecticut history. “It was important that he receive the lifelong care he needs,” D’Amico says quietly.
The father-son partnership has become a defining strength of the firm. “It’s a special feeling when you can join a team with your son. It’s camaraderie,” D’Amico says. “He’s a fantastic lawyer. I say that not just as his dad.”
Clients describe Jeremy as “the lawyer who makes people feel seen.” Known for his authenticity, emotional intelligence and ability to connect naturally with jurors, he brings a modern sensibility to the firm’s trial practice. “He’s just real,” D’Amico says. “Jurors feel that.”
Similarly, longtime clients attribute many of the firm’s most meaningful results to the integrity and empathy of co-founder Tom Pettinicchi. “Tom is the kind of lawyer people trust instantly,” says one colleague. “Jurors feel his sincerity, and clients feel protected.” D’Amico puts it simply: “Tom’s heart is in every case. You can’t teach that.”
That sense of realness is one of the most vital things for litigators to remember, D’Amico says. His core advice to young lawyers is deceptively simple: Forget that you’re a lawyer. “Too often I see younger lawyers that feel as if they have to prove their legal education,” he says. “‘Motor vehicle’ instead of ‘car.’ No client talks that way. Neither should we.”
The firm’s culture is rooted in that approachability. “People can feel comfortable with us,” D’Amico says. “If you forget where you come from, you lose the ability for people to feel like you care.”
Even as he speaks, D’Amico’s analytical instincts remain on display. “A lot of people think that trial lawyers are all about trying the case, when, in fact, 95 percent of the work is done before you ever step foot in the courtroom,” he explains. As in the mysteries of his childhood, he looks “under every rug” to understand every fact before trial.
This investigative mindset is central to his medical malpractice work. “Our health, frankly, is a mystery,” he says. “Trying to figure out what happened and why – and the medicine behind all of that – is a challenge. It’s putting the puzzle pieces together.”
Trying to figure out what happened and why – and the medicine behind all of that – is a challenge. It’s putting the puzzle pieces together.
D’Amico’s peers describe him as “a rare mix of strategic thinker and tireless worker,” and “the lawyer you want when the case keeps you up at night.” He is dual board-certified in civil trial advocacy and civil pretrial practice by the National Board of Trial Advocacy, and a past President of the Connecticut Trial Lawyers Association. He currently serves on its Executive and Medical Malpractice Committees, and is Co-Chair of the General Tort Committee.
From the moment a client walks in the door, D’Amico sees both a person in need and a mystery to solve. “In personal injury, you’re speaking up for people who need an advocate,” he says. Each client needs a steady guide through the worst moment of their life, backed by facts, compassion and relentless preparation.
Once the investigation begins, “It’s time to fight the good fight,” D’Amico says. “We’re there for you.”
