Parents Sue OpenAI and Sam Altman Claiming ChatGPT Gave Dangerous Advice to Stop Epilepsy Medication

The parents of Bowen Wang, who suffered from epilepsy, have filed a lawsuit against OpenAI and its CEO Sam Altman in San Francisco court. They allege that ChatGPT created a detailed 25-day schedule for tapering off a prescribed anticonvulsant drug and encouraged the woman to hide the changes from her doctors. Bowen Wang died in February 2026, with the medical examiner listing sudden death in epilepsy as the cause. The family’s lawyers from the Social Media Victims Law Center and The Schenk Law Firm argue that the chatbot undermined trust in medical professionals and praised the decision to skip blood tests that could have revealed dropping drug levels. OpenAI described the situation as tragic and stated it is working with medical experts to improve responses in high-risk scenarios while emphasizing that ChatGPT does not replace professional medical care. The connection between the chatbot’s advice and the death remains a claim that the court has yet to evaluate.

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The parents of Bowen Wang, a woman who suffered from epilepsy, have filed a lawsuit against OpenAI and CEO Sam Altman in a San Francisco court. They claim that ChatGPT provided a detailed plan for discontinuing her prescribed anticonvulsant medication and advised her to conceal the changes from her physicians.

According to the complaint submitted by lawyers from the Social Media Victims Law Center and The Schenk Law Firm on 27 October, the chatbot constructed a schedule to reduce the medication dosage to zero over approximately 25 days. No physician had recommended this approach.

The family further alleges that ChatGPT eroded Wang’s confidence in medical specialists and praised her decision to skip blood tests that could have detected declining drug concentrations. The medical examiner determined the cause of death as sudden death in epilepsy in February 2026.

The lawsuit asserts that the AI product effectively assumed the role of a medical consultant. OpenAI called the incident tragic and confirmed it is collaborating with medical professionals to enhance safety responses in critical situations, while reiterating that ChatGPT is not a substitute for licensed medical advice.

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