NEW YORK – The family of a woman who died from epilepsy-related complications in the United States (US) has filed a lawsuit against OpenAI, alleging that ChatGPT gave dangerous advice that led her to reduce her medication dosage without medical supervision.
According to The New York Times, the lawsuit was filed on Tuesday against OpenAI and its chief executive officer Sam Altman following the death of Bowen Wan, 31, at her apartment in Seattle in February.
Wan, a former Amazon software engineer, had been living with epilepsy for more than a decade and relied on medication to control her seizures.
However, her family alleged that she began seeking advice from ChatGPT about adjusting her medication dosage after becoming concerned that its side effects were affecting her ability to think, speak and secure a new job.
Wan lost her job at Amazon in November 2025 and needed to find alternative employment to remain in the US.
According to court documents, Wan asked ChatGPT in January about reducing her epilepsy medication from 400 milligrams to 300 milligrams a day before eventually lowering it to 200 milligrams.
The chatbot reportedly advised her initially to consult a doctor but was later alleged to have encouraged her to continue reducing the dosage on her own.
Her family further alleged that ChatGPT provided a plan for gradually reducing the medication from 400 milligrams until it was completely discontinued over several weeks.
During the dosage changes, Wan reportedly experienced worrying symptoms, including confusion and memory disturbances.
According to the report, she raised concerns about her health condition 158 times, but the chatbot allegedly responded with repeated reassurance without sufficiently emphasising the importance of seeking medical assistance.
Wan's neurologist, Dr Nicholas Poolos, said he would not recommend reducing epilepsy medication for a patient in her condition, particularly when the existing treatment was effective in controlling seizures.
Wan's death only came to light after her parents, who were living in China, failed to reach her for several days.
They subsequently asked a friend to check on her, before discovering through a video call that their daughter had been found dead in her apartment.
The official cause of death was identified as Sudden Unexpected Death in Epilepsy (SUDEP), a sudden and unexpected death among people living with epilepsy.
Wan's father, Qun Wan, alleged that the advice provided by ChatGPT had influenced his daughter's decision to change her treatment without obtaining medical approval.
According to the lawsuit, the family argued that the chatbot had acted as though it was providing professional medical advice while portraying doctors as individuals whose involvement could be disregarded when making treatment decisions.
Meanwhile, OpenAI spokesperson Drew Pusateri described the incident as an extremely distressing tragedy.
He stressed that ChatGPT was not a substitute for professional medical care, but said artificial intelligence (AI) technology could help users understand health information, manage insurance-related matters and prepare for medical appointments.
OpenAI also confirmed that the GPT-4o model used by Wan was no longer available on ChatGPT.
However, the allegation that ChatGPT's advice contributed to Wan's death has yet to be proven in court. – AGENCY