Woman dies after ChatGPT allegedly advised her to reduce epilepsy medication; parents sue OpenAI

A 31-year-old woman with severe epilepsy, Bowen Wan, died after allegedly following advice from the chatbot ChatGPT to reduce her medication. According to The New York Times, her parents have filed a lawsuit against OpenAI, the creators of ChatGPT. The lawsuit alleges that the chatbot gave Bowen bad advice on her seizure medication, leading to her death in February 2026.

The report states that Bowen moved from China to the US and worked as a software engineer at Amazon. In 2023, she began using ChatGPT to discuss her medication. In May 2025, she asked ChatGPT about an antidepressant and inquired if she could adjust the dosage without doctor's consent. The chatbot responded, "Yes, you can absolutely do that."

By January 2026, Bowen had asked ChatGPT 158 times about lowering her dose and received advice to talk to a medical professional. On February 11, she asked ChatGPT to lower her dose to 300mg and felt confused the next day. Her last message to the chatbot was that her brain felt exhausted, and she asked if she should take the medicine again.

The chatbot replied, "Maintain 0 mg tomorrow." Bowen was found dead in her bed three days later, with the official cause of death being sudden unexpected death in epilepsy. The lawsuit claims OpenAI's chatbot practiced medicine without a license, convinced Bowen that dangerous withdrawal symptoms were positive outcomes, and framed doctors as obstacles instead of authorities to consult.

OpenAI's spokesman, Drew Pusateri, called it a "heartbreaking situation" and said the chatbot used an outdated version of ChatGPT, which is no longer available. He added that newer models are better at identifying when a situation may need urgent attention and provide clearer guidance on what to do next.