ERJ-190 Captain reported encountering significant wake turbulence from a heavy jet ahead that resulted in an abrupt roll and a max bank angle to the left.

Narrative

After departing DCA and on climb-out we got switched to Washington Center. The seat belt sign was on. The air/turbulence conditions were very near to smooth. Captain was PF and FO was PM. Roughly in the vicinity of the SWANN intersection we got cleared directly to LAURN intersection and given a climb to FL230. While passing roughly FL225 we encountered a significant wake turbulence event. We were climbing at a speed of 282 KIAS. The aircraft rolled abruptly to the left and reached a max bank angle of roughly 20 to 25 degrees to the left. The pitch attitude decreased to a few degrees below the horizon. I was pilot flying and I quickly reached up to take control of the aircraft and was expecting the autopilot to disconnect. The autopilot did not disconnect. It happened very quickly and I assessed that the roll had stopped and the autopilot was doing a good job at recovering and correcting so I elected to leave it on while still guarding the controls and monitoring the flight path of the aircraft. My FO was also monitoring. So far maybe 5 - 10 seconds had passed. The aircraft was now stable again and resuming its climb to FL230. The FO advised ATC that we had just encountered wake turbulence and they told us that there was a heavy jet ahead and above us. According to my recollection ATC said it was between 10 - 12NM away from us but on a crossing track across our flight path. They gave us a heading to avoid subsequent upsets. At this time; I spoke with the flight attendants. They reported minor injuries of their own including bumped head; leg; and stomach areas. Also; coffee had spilt and burned one. They informed me that they did not require paramedics themselves. All passengers had been seated with seat belts fastened and no injuries were reported. Soon after this we were cleared to climb to FL290 and the rest of the flight was uneventful. After about 20 more minutes I again checked on the status of the flight attendants and the passengers. No passenger injuries and both flight attendants; although slightly banged up with minor complaints; again said that they were fine and did not require medical attention.