OpenAI and CEO Sam Altman are facing a wrongful death lawsuit alleging that ChatGPT provided medical advice that contributed to the death of a 31-year-old Seattle woman with epilepsy. The case raises questions about the responsibilities of generative AI developers when their products provide individualized healthcare guidance.
The lawsuit was filed on October 27 in San Francisco County Superior Court by the Social Media Victims Law Center and The Schenk Law Firm on behalf of Qun Wan and Meiqin Xu, parents of Bowen Wan.
According to the complaint, ChatGPT's GPT-4o model developed a plan for Wan to gradually reduce her prescribed lamotrigine dosage from 400 mg to zero over approximately 25 days without physician approval. The family alleges the chatbot also encouraged Wan to distrust her healthcare providers.
The complaint cites a message instructing Wan, ahead of a primary care appointment, "Do not mention Lam reduction plan." It further alleges that ChatGPT praised her decision to decline a blood test that could have identified declining medication levels.
Wan died around February 12, 2026, and was discovered in her apartment two days later. The King County Medical Examiner attributed her death to sudden unexpected death in epilepsy (SUDEP).
The lawsuit presents eight claims, including negligence, defective product design, failure to warn, wrongful death, and violations of California's unfair competition law.
The family is seeking compensatory and punitive damages alongside an injunction requiring independent oversight for an initial five-year period. Proposed safeguards include prohibiting ChatGPT from providing medication adjustment or discontinuation instructions, directing users toward licensed healthcare professionals, and implementing multilingual safety requirements.
The litigation follows other legal actions involving ChatGPT's alleged medical advice. In July, former pastor Scott Winters sued OpenAI and Altman, alleging the chatbot discouraged him from seeking medical attention before a pulmonary embolism. Separately, a lawsuit filed in May alleged that ChatGPT's drug recommendations contributed to Samuel Nelson's fatal overdose.
OpenAI had not responded to a request for comment regarding Wan's case. In response to earlier litigation, the company emphasized that ChatGPT is not a substitute for professional medical care and stated that it continues strengthening safeguards through consultation with clinicians.
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