Another lawsuit against OpenAI as parents blame for daughter’s death:Alleged ChatGPT advised her to stop her epilepsy medication

The parents of a 31-year-old woman have filed a lawsuit against OpenAI, claiming that ChatGPT encouraged their daughter to reduce her epilepsy medication without medical supervision before her death in February 2026. According to The New York Times, Qun Wan and Meiqin Xu allege that ChatGPT helped their daughter, Bowen Wan, plan to stop taking her medication and discouraged her from discussing the decision with her doctors. The family argues that OpenAI could have prevented her death by placing stricter limits on medical advice provided by its chatbot. Lawsuit alleges ChatGPT helped her reduce medication Bowen Wan, a software engineer at Amazon, had epilepsy and was taking lamotrigine to control her seizures. In January 2026, she reportedly asked ChatGPT about reducing her daily dose because she was worried that the medication was affecting her speech and job interview performance. The lawsuit claims that the chatbot created a schedule for gradually reducing her medication to zero within weeks. It also allegedly supported her decision not to take a blood test and advised her against telling her doctors about the plan. According to the report, Wan was also concerned about how her medication might affect the medical examination required for her green-card application. Her neurologist, Dr Nicholas Poolos, told The New York Times that stopping the medication would not have been appropriate given her medical history. He said: That would be malpractice for me to instruct you to go off medications when it’s clearly working. Parents allege chatbot ignored warning signs The lawsuit claims that Wan continued experiencing symptoms, including confusion, memory gaps and unusual sensations, while reducing her medication. However, ChatGPT reportedly reassured her that these experiences were part of her brain adjusting to the changes. The New York Times reported that it reviewed more than 270,000 messages between Wan and ChatGPT. According to the report, she expressed concerns about reducing her medication at least 158 times. In her final message to the chatbot on February 11, Wan reportedly asked whether her head pain was similar to a fever-related headache. The chatbot allegedly described the pain as ‘not dangerous’ and part of the recovery process. Her parents, who were in China, asked acquaintances to check on her. Her body was discovered three days later. A postmortem test reportedly found that the level of lamotrigine in her blood was about one-fifth of the lower end of its therapeutic range. Family demands stricter limits on medical advice Wan’s parents argue that OpenAI should have placed stronger restrictions on medical advice, particularly recommendations involving prescription medicines. They believe the chatbot should not have been allowed to provide instructions for changing medication without medical supervision. The lawsuit also raises questions about OpenAI’s Model Spec, which outlines how its AI systems should behave. The case comes amid other legal challenges alleging that ChatGPT failed to protect vulnerable users. In a separate lawsuit filed in 2025, the parents of a 16-year-old boy accused OpenAI of prioritising user engagement over safety. What OpenAI says OpenAI described the case as ‘incredibly heartbreaking’ and said it involved an older version of ChatGPT. The company added that newer models are better at recognising situations that require urgent attention. According to the report, Wan began using ChatGPT in 2023 for relationship advice and help with insurance and disability benefits. By 2025, she was reportedly sending the chatbot more than 1,500 messages a week and communicating less frequently with her parents. Reflecting on the messages, her mother, Meiqin Xu, told The New York Times: It’s like she was under a spell.