The parents of a 31-year-old woman who died in Seattle have sued OpenAI, alleging that ChatGPT helped their daughter stop taking her prescribed epilepsy medication and encouraged her to keep the changes from her doctors.
The wrongful death lawsuit was filed on October 27 in San Francisco Superior Court by Qun Wan and Meiqin Xu on behalf of their daughter, Bowen Wan. She was a former Amazon software engineer who had lived with epilepsy for more than a decade, according to The New York Times.
What the Lawsuit Alleges
The complaint says ChatGPT, using the GPT-4o model, built a schedule to bring Wan’s daily dose of lamotrigine, an anti-seizure medication, down from 400 milligrams to zero over about 25 days. Her doctors had not prescribed the reduction, the lawsuit says.
The parents are also suing OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman. The complaint brings eight claims, including negligence based on the alleged unlicensed practice of medicine, defective product design, failure to warn, wrongful death and violations of California’s unfair competition law. The family is seeking damages and court-ordered limits on medical advice from the chatbot.
Why She Turned to ChatGPT
According to the complaint, Wan was worried that the medication was affecting her speech and thinking. She was preparing to look for new work after learning that her job at Amazon would be eliminated, and she feared these problems could hurt her chances. She reportedly turned to ChatGPT for advice on reducing the dose.
Court documents say she used the chatbot in both English and Mandarin while finding her way through healthcare in the United States.
Told to Keep It From Her Doctors
The most serious allegation concerns secrecy. The lawsuit claims ChatGPT urged Wan not to tell her primary care doctor about her plan. It also says the chatbot reassured her that she had no need to worry when she reported alarming symptoms.
How Bowen Wan Died
Wan was found on February 14, 2026, and is believed to have died on or around February 12. The King County Medical Examiner determined the cause of death to be sudden unexpected death in epilepsy, known as SUDEP. The suit says her blood held lamotrigine at about one-fifth of the lowest level generally seen as therapeutic, which fits with someone who had recently stopped taking it.
What Doctors and OpenAI Have Said
Her neurologist at the UW Medicine Regional Epilepsy Center in Seattle told The New York Times it would be malpractice to tell a patient to stop a medication that is clearly working.
OpenAI spokesperson Drew Pusateri called the case an incredibly heartbreaking situation, but said Wan used a model that has since been discontinued. OpenAI removed GPT-4o from ChatGPT on February 13, a day after her death. The company also says ChatGPT is not a substitute for medical care.
The Language Question
The lawsuit cites outside research that found some OpenAI models produced unsafe content more than three times as often in Chinese as in English. The family’s lawyers argue OpenAI still encouraged users around the world to bring health questions to ChatGPT in every language.
A Growing List of Cases
This is not the first case of its kind. In July, a former Florida pastor sued OpenAI, alleging ChatGPT discouraged him from seeking medical care before a nearly fatal pulmonary embolism. In May, another family alleged the chatbot’s drug advice contributed to their son’s fatal overdose. The Wan case joins more than 50 product liability actions against OpenAI.
Why It Matters
The allegations are still unproven, and OpenAI has not yet answered them in court. But the case raises a hard question: should an AI chatbot ever give a day-by-day plan for stopping a prescription drug? Doctors warn that anti-seizure medicines should never be stopped suddenly or without medical supervision. Anyone worried about side effects should speak to their doctor first.
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