Are there complaints, disciplinary actions, or malpractice records associated with Dr. Eric Berg?
Executive summary
Dr. Eric Berg has documented regulatory and consumer actions on his record: a formal disciplinary consent order from Virginia in 2008 that resulted in a reprimand and monetary penalty, multiple Better Business Bureau complaints tied to his business operations, and a 2021 California enforcement action related to lead in dietary supplements associated with his company [1] [2] [3]. Additional media reporting describes an employment lawsuit alleging pressure to promote Scientology, but public records of medical malpractice lawsuits specifically against Dr. Berg are not shown in the provided sources [4].
1. The formal disciplinary action: Virginia consent order and its findings
State disciplinary action is the clearest documented regulatory sanction: a consent agreement with the Virginia Board of Medicine resulted in a formal reprimand, a $1,500 fine, and orders restricting certain practices and claims; the board found deficiencies including inadequate, illegible, or incomplete patient records and promotional claims not supportable by reasonable scientific evidence [1]. The Quackwatch summary reproduces the board’s findings that Berg’s patient files often lacked basic documentation such as symptom descriptions, diagnoses, treatment plans, and progress notes, and that he had promoted his book and therapeutic claims in ways the board deemed misleading [1].
2. Consumer complaints and the Better Business Bureau record
The Better Business Bureau listing for Dr. Eric Berg / Health and Wellness shows consumer complaints and responses related to product sales and business practices, with entries noting unresolved customer disputes, non-responsiveness to disputes in some cases, and difficulty locating the business in others; the BBB profile also identifies Dr. Berg as CEO/owner of associated nutrition product operations [2] [5]. These entries reflect customer disputes rather than adjudicated malpractice findings, and the BBB itself frames its content as third‑party complaint summaries for consumer judgment [5].
3. Regulatory enforcement tied to supplements: California Prop 65 action
State-level enforcement over products connected to Berg’s business appears in a 2021 California 60‑day notice and related enforcement matter under Proposition 65: the Health & Wellness Center, doing business as Dr. Berg Nutritionals, was subject to measures including enjoinment from selling products that expose Californians to lead above specified daily levels unless labeled appropriately, and associated civil penalties were described in the settlement language [3]. This is a product-safety/regulatory enforcement action rather than a professional-practice malpractice ruling [3].
4. Employment lawsuit and reputational allegations
Media reporting documents a 2022 lawsuit in which a former employee alleged persistent pressure to take Scientology courses while working for Berg; investigative coverage by Tony Ortega’s Underground Bunker highlights those claims and Berg’s association with Scientology in the reporting [4]. This is presented in press coverage of litigation and should be understood as allegations in a civil employment suit; the materials supplied here do not include the court filings or final adjudication details.
5. What the records do not show in the provided sources
The assembled sources do not provide a public medical malpractice judgement against Dr. Eric Berg as a physician (i.e., a court malpractice verdict or settlement for clinical negligence) nor a comprehensive list of every consumer complaint or litigation outcome; absence of such records in these specific sources does not prove none exist, only that they are not in the supplied reporting. Independent verification through state court dockets, malpractice databases, or the Virginia Board’s own archives would be required to assert the complete absence of malpractice suits beyond the items cited here [1] [2] [3] [4].
6. Bottom line: documented disciplinary, consumer, and product actions exist; malpractice claims not shown here
In sum, Dr. Eric Berg has at least one documented state disciplinary consent order from Virginia (reprimand and fine), multiple consumer complaints recorded at the BBB about his business and products, and a California enforcement action tied to lead in supplement products; press reporting also records a civil employment suit alleging religious coercion—however, the sources provided do not include a recorded medical‑malpractice verdict or settlement against him [1] [2] [3] [4]. Readers seeking complete legal exposure should consult state board records, court dockets, and regulatory enforcement repositories for exhaustive, up‑to‑date documentation beyond these summarized sources.