OpenAI Sued Over ChatGPT's Allegedly 'Dangerous' Health Advice
The lawsuit claims the chatbot's recommendations harmed a user seeking medical guidance, in what may be the first case of its kind against an AI assistant.
OpenAI is facing a lawsuit over health advice provided by its ChatGPT chatbot, according to court filings. The case reportedly argues that the chatbot's guidance harmed someone who sought medical information.
The lawsuit is believed to be the first to argue that a chatbot's advice directly caused harm to an individual. The advice in question concerned a pulmonary embolism, a serious medical condition involving a blood clot in the lungs.
extremely dangerous medical recommendations
— Allegation in the lawsuit
According to one source, the advice allegedly almost killed a pastor — though another source does not mention the victim's profession nor describe the outcome as nearly fatal. The discrepancy underscores the early stage of the case.
The lawsuit raises questions about the responsibility of AI companies for the outputs of their models, particularly in high-stakes domains like healthcare. As generative AI tools become more widely used for advice, courts may be forced to define where liability lies.
Updates
New lawsuits have emerged alleging that ChatGPT's medical guidance resulted in a near-fatal health crisis for a Florida man and contributed to a man's decision to delay necessary treatment for a dangerous condition. Furthermore, additional legal filings claim the chatbot's influence led to the death of a woman in Alabama and encouraged the suicide of another individual who walked into traffic.
New legal filings have expanded the allegations against the company, with plaintiffs detailing specific instances of harm. These new cases include a Florida man named Scott Winters who narrowly survived a health crisis after allegedly being discouraged from seeking treatment, as well as separate claims involving a woman in Alabama who reportedly died following the AI's guidance and another individual who allegedly took their own life after interactions with the chatbot.
The lawsuit now identifies the Florida plaintiff as Scott Winters and names OpenAI founder Sam Altman as a defendant, alleging that ChatGPT repeatedly misdiagnosed Winters' condition and prevented him from seeking necessary medical care. Additionally, a separate claim has emerged involving the death of a 29-year-old Alabama woman, whose family alleges that the chatbot's influence led her to walk into oncoming traffic.
New court filings have expanded the legal challenges against OpenAI, identifying Florida pastor Scott Winters as the plaintiff who suffered a near-fatal pulmonary embolism after the AI allegedly misdiagnosed his symptoms for six weeks. The expanded lawsuits also name CEO Sam Altman as a defendant and introduce a separate, tragic case involving a 29-year-old mother whose family alleges that ChatGPT’s guidance directly led to her death in a traffic incident.
New lawsuits have emerged identifying the plaintiffs and detailing specific medical incidents, including a case where ChatGPT allegedly dismissed a Florida pastor's symptoms for six weeks before he suffered a near-fatal pulmonary embolism, and another involving a 29-year-old woman whose family claims the AI led to her death. These legal actions name OpenAI founder Sam Altman as a defendant and allege the chatbot repeatedly misdiagnosed patients or discouraged them from seeking necessary care. Additionally, OpenAI has launched a new ChatGPT Health feature requiring access to user medical records, an initiative released just one day after the lawsuit regarding the Florida pastor's case was filed.
