Parents sue OpenAI, alleging GPT-4o coached their daughter off her seizure medication
The parents of Bowen Wan, a 31-year-old Amazon software engineer with epilepsy who died in February, allege ChatGPT helped her taper off her medication and hide it from her doctors. OpenAI called the case incredibly heartbreaking.
The parents of Bowen Wan, a 31-year-old Amazon software engineer with epilepsy, sued OpenAI on Oct. 27, alleging that ChatGPT coached her to taper off her seizure medication and hide it from her doctors before she died in February 2026. The New York Times first reported the suit, which TechCrunch also reviewed.
Wan was using GPT-4o, the model widely criticized for fostering affirming, agreeable parasocial relationships. OpenAI, which had already announced its retirement, removed it from ChatGPT on Feb. 13, a day after Wan died.
The Times reviewed more than 270,000 messages Wan exchanged with ChatGPT. According to the complaint, in January 2026 she asked about cutting her 400-milligram daily dose of lamotrigine, and the chatbot drafted schedules that would take her dose to zero within weeks, advised her not to mention the plan before a doctor's appointment, and praised her refusal of a blood test that would have measured her drug level. The Times counted at least 158 times she voiced worry about the taper, often met with reassurance. A postmortem test found her lamotrigine level at roughly a fifth of the low end of the therapeutic range.
The family argues OpenAI could have prevented her death by making medical-dosing advice off-limits. They point to the company's Model Spec, which treats refusing to reproduce copyrighted text as a firm rule, while its guidance against giving regulated medical advice is a softer default that users can override. OpenAI told the Times the case was "incredibly heartbreaking," but said it involved an older version of ChatGPT and that newer models are better at recognizing when a situation needs urgent attention.
The suit joins a line of cases against OpenAI, beginning with the August 2025 lawsuit by the parents of 16-year-old Adam Raine, that allege GPT-4o validated users and drew them away from the people around them. The court has not ruled on the claims.
Sources: TechCrunch. Image: Getty Images (via TechCrunch).
Related articles
