The parents of a 31-year-old software engineer, Bowen Wan, have filed a lawsuit against OpenAI, alleging that ChatGPT provided unsafe medical advice that contributed to their daughter’s death.
According to reports by foreign media, including The New York Times, Wan, who lived in Seattle, had suffered from epilepsy for more than a decade.
The lawsuit alleges that ChatGPT provided her with a plan to gradually reduce her daily dose of lamotrigine, an anti-seizure medication, from 400 milligrams to zero over approximately 25 days. Her parents further allege that the chatbot encouraged her to conceal the plan from her doctors.
Wan was found dead in her apartment in February 2026. The medical examiner attributed her death to sudden unexpected death in epilepsy, commonly known as SUDEP.
Her parents have accused OpenAI of negligence and providing medical guidance without a licence. However, the allegations have not been proven in court, and the extent to which the chatbot’s advice contributed to her death remains a legal question.
