{"id":1315329,"date":"2026-10-29T09:27:36","date_gmt":"2026-10-29T03:57:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/?p=1315329"},"modified":"2026-10-29T09:27:53","modified_gmt":"2026-10-29T03:57:53","slug":"woman-dies-after-following-chatgpts-health-advice-cases-reaches-court","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/woman-dies-after-following-chatgpts-health-advice-cases-reaches-court\/","title":{"rendered":"Woman Dies After Following ChatGPT&#8217;s Health Advice; Cases Reaches Court"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>The parents of a 31-year-old woman have filed a lawsuit against OpenAI, alleging that ChatGPT encouraged their daughter to reduce and eventually stop taking her epilepsy medication without medical supervision before her death in February 2026.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"764\" height=\"401\" src=\"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/images-54.jpeg\" alt=\"Woman Dies After Following ChatGPT's Health Advice; Cases Reaches Court\" class=\"wp-image-1315337\" srcset=\"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/images-54.jpeg 764w, https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/images-54-300x157.jpeg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 764px) 100vw, 764px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Bowen Wan, a software engineer who previously worked at Amazon, lived in Seattle and had managed epilepsy for more than a decade. According to reports citing the lawsuit and her chat records, she relied on ChatGPT for guidance about reducing her medication after becoming concerned that its side effects were affecting her speech and job prospects.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Her parents allege that the chatbot provided a schedule for reducing her medication, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ndtv.com\/world-news\/woman-31-dies-after-following-chatgpts-advice-to-decrease-epilepsy-medication-12250788\">reassured her about concerning symptoms and encouraged her to keep the changes from her doctors.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">ChatGPT Allegedly Created a Medication Reduction Plan<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Wan had been taking 400 milligrams of lamotrigine daily to control her seizures. After learning that her position at Amazon would be eliminated, she became worried that the medication was affecting her ability to communicate during job interviews.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>According to the lawsuit, she asked ChatGPT whether reducing her dosage could improve her language skills. The chatbot allegedly helped her plan successive reductions, eventually creating a schedule that would bring her daily dose down to zero within weeks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The complaint further alleges that ChatGPT encouraged her to conceal the medication changes from her medical team and supported her decision to decline a blood test that could have revealed changes in her medication levels.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Her neurologist, Nicholas Poolos, reportedly said he would not have recommended stopping the medication given her medical history.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Chatbot Allegedly Dismissed Warning Signs<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>As Wan reduced her medication, she reportedly experienced confusion, memory gaps and episodes that raised concerns about possible seizures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>According to the lawsuit, ChatGPT repeatedly reassured her that these symptoms reflected her brain adjusting to the medication changes rather than treating them as potential medical emergencies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The family&#8217;s legal complaint alleges that the chatbot continued supporting the reduction despite her concerns. Wan was found dead in her apartment on February 14, 2026.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Her reported cause of death was sudden unexpected death in epilepsy, commonly known as SUDEP, a fatal complication associated with epilepsy. The lawsuit alleges that the medication reduction and ChatGPT&#8217;s guidance contributed to her death. Those allegations have not yet been established in court.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Parents Hold OpenAI Responsible<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Wan&#8217;s parents, Qun Wan and Meiqin Xu, have sued OpenAI and its chief executive, Sam Altman. They allege that the company failed to provide adequate safeguards against dangerous medical advice and that the chatbot crossed the line between providing general information and directing medical treatment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The case raises broader questions about the risks of people relying on conversational AI for decisions involving prescription medication, particularly when they are isolated or reluctant to discuss concerns with healthcare professionals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">OpenAI Responds to the Lawsuit<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>An OpenAI spokesperson described the situation as heartbreaking and expressed sympathy for everyone affected. The company said Wan had used GPT-4o, an earlier model that is no longer available in the consumer ChatGPT app.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>OpenAI also said it continues working with clinicians and other experts to improve how its models respond to sensitive situations. The company maintains that ChatGPT is not a substitute for professional medical care, although it can help users understand health information and prepare for appointments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The lawsuit adds to wider scrutiny of AI safety, medical guidance and the responsibility technology companies have when users rely on chatbots for high-stakes decisions.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The parents of a 31-year-old woman have filed a lawsuit against OpenAI, alleging that ChatGPT encouraged their daughter to reduce and eventually stop taking her epilepsy medication without medical supervision before her death in February 2026. Bowen Wan, a software engineer who previously worked at Amazon, lived in Seattle and had managed epilepsy for more [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":30,"featured_media":1315337,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[584],"class_list":["post-1315329","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business","tag-chatgpt"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v25.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Woman Dies After Following ChatGPT&#039;s Health Advice; Cases Reaches Court - Trak.in - Indian Business of Tech, Mobile &amp; Startups<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/woman-dies-after-following-chatgpts-health-advice-cases-reaches-court\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Woman Dies After Following ChatGPT&#039;s Health Advice; Cases Reaches Court - Trak.in - Indian Business of Tech, Mobile &amp; Startups\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The parents of a 31-year-old woman have filed a lawsuit against OpenAI, alleging that ChatGPT encouraged their daughter to reduce and eventually stop taking her epilepsy medication without medical supervision before her death in February 2026. Bowen Wan, a software engineer who previously worked at Amazon, lived in Seattle and had managed epilepsy for more [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/woman-dies-after-following-chatgpts-health-advice-cases-reaches-court\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Trak.in - Indian Business of Tech, Mobile &amp; Startups\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-10-29T03:57:36+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-10-29T03:57:53+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/images-54.jpeg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"764\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"401\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Mohul Ghosh\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Mohul Ghosh\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/woman-dies-after-following-chatgpts-health-advice-cases-reaches-court\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/woman-dies-after-following-chatgpts-health-advice-cases-reaches-court\/\",\"name\":\"Woman Dies After Following ChatGPT's Health Advice; 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