Erik William Berger

"All Talk and No Action – Yet Still Expensive" Mr. Berger struggled to get my appeal for long-term disability approved before I obtained Social Security Disability Insurance. I spent two years completing the SSDI process which meant I had no income during that time. "Mr. Berger did not meet expecta...tions." As soon as I dismissed Mr. Berger I successfully got the LTD appeal approved and had my benefits restored within 30 days by myself.

He told me I would never get approved for Disability and he did almost nothing at all. I did all the work. I got all the med records. I arranged evals with specialists on my own and got them to prepare reports. I talked to retired SS Disability judges who told me I could go back 3-4 years. He told me... I could not. AJ hearing. He said nothing. Did nothing. In presented my case, answered questions of judge. Was approved and got the 3-4 years or arrearage also. So my payout was quite large. Which meant he got a huge percent. He was so excited $$$$.. But did no work to earn that money. Just kept telling me I would be denied and did not work to get evidence to prove. I did my own research, got others to help me. He is a parasite, lazy and makes money off other's misfortunes. Win some, lose some. He makes money.

He was ill prepared with my medical records and hospital stays. He didn't ask the correct questions during the meeting with the judge. I had to refile due to his lack of competence which only cost me more waiting time. I'm not one to take advantage of the system. I do expect decency and respect from ...an attorney stating he specializes in ss claims. I would definitely defer you to a different attorney. I checked consulted since they are only paid once judgment is in the person's interest. He did 'attempt' to represent in a very poor manner.

Took our case then told us he wasn’t going to file appeal paper because we’d likely have jobs before the appeal was completed. We had to do file the appeal on our own and had completely forgotten about him. Months later, he notified us that the appeal had been approved. Three months after approval..., we still hadn’t been paid by SSI. When I called him to ask what he was doing, he got angry and accused me of being like his other clients and only wanted to refuse to pay him. I tried to explain that I don’t mind paying him, but my expectation is that when I pay someone, they would actually doing something for me. He told me his office had done everything already. When I asked him what they had done, he told me that they had called the SSA office twice and was on hold for a whole 10 minutes. I’m a federal mediator, and it’s my job to de-escalate conflicts. After talking with him, I was ready to punch a wall. He assumed he knew what I wanted then proceeded to berate me for not wanting to pay him. When I told him that the only thing he’s done is to call the SS office, which we’ve already done several times. He responded angrily by saying there was nothing else to do. What’s the point of hiring a lawyer when all they can do is the same thing I’ve already done? Eric Berger’s entire practice is to play the lottery. He takes on cases, does nothing, and eventually, some cases payout then he collects. The following day we called SSA again and spoke with someone who said they would issue a dire need letter. I guess with 10 years of experience, Mr. Berger doesn’t know about this letter. Also just found out that the SSA is suppose to work through our attorney and can only contact us with his permission. Mr. Berger gave us the contact number of the claims manager and simply told us to work with them, taking him out of the loop completely (except when it comes to collecting his fees).