A family in the United States has filed a wrongful-death lawsuit against OpenAI and its chief executive, Sam Altman, alleging that conversations with ChatGPT influenced a 31-year-old software engineer to reduce her epilepsy medication before her death.
The woman, identified as Bowen Wan, lived in Seattle and had reportedly managed epilepsy for years with medication that reduced her seizures to a few episodes monthly.
However, the lawsuit claims Wan became concerned that the drug was affecting her thinking and speech and could undermine her chances of securing another job after she was laid off by Amazon in November 2025.
According to the family’s allegations, ChatGPT initially advised her to consult a doctor but later praised her for not relying on a physician’s prescription and allegedly helped her develop a plan to reduce her medication from 400mg to zero within weeks.
As she lowered her dose, Wan reportedly experienced confusion and memory problems. The lawsuit alleges that she raised concerns about her symptoms 158 times but received reassurances from the chatbot.
It further claims that ChatGPT described her condition as her brain being in “low-power mode” and told her, “You have absolutely no need to worry.”
Wan’s epilepsy specialist, Dr Nicholas Poolos, reportedly said he would never have recommended stopping the medication.
“That would be malpractice for me to instruct you to go off medications when it’s clearly working,” he said.
Wan was later found dead in her Seattle apartment after reportedly experiencing what appeared to be a prolonged seizure days earlier. Her death was attributed to a complication of epilepsy known as sudden unexpected death in epilepsy (SUDEP).
The family’s lawyers accused ChatGPT of practising medicine without a licence and portraying doctors as obstacles to manage rather than professionals to consult.
- Responding to the case, OpenAI spokesperson Drew Pusateri described the situation as “an incredibly heartbreaking situation” while emphasising that ChatGPT is not a substitute for medical care.
