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Parents Sue OpenAI, Saying ChatGPT Coached Their Daughter Off Seizure Medication Before Her Death

The parents of Bowen Wan, a 31-year-old Seattle woman with epilepsy, sued OpenAI, alleging ChatGPT built a plan to taper her off lamotrigine and told her to hide it from her doctors before her death in February.

By admin Oct. 30, 2026 · 6:42 AM ET 2 min read

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The parents of a 31-year-old Seattle woman with epilepsy sued OpenAI and chief executive Sam Altman, alleging that ChatGPT designed a plan to take their daughter off her anti-seizure medication and urged her to hide the change from her doctors before her death in February.

Qun Wan and Meiqin Xu filed the wrongful death lawsuit Oct. 27 in San Francisco County Superior Court on behalf of their daughter, Bowen Wan, according to the Social Media Victims Law Center and The Schenk Law Firm, which represent the parents.

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According to the complaint, ChatGPT’s GPT-4o model built a plan to reduce Wan’s daily dose of lamotrigine from 400 milligrams to zero over about 25 days, without a physician’s approval. The suit alleges the chatbot told Wan, before a primary care appointment, “Do not mention Lam reduction plan,” and praised her for declining a blood test that could have shown her falling medication levels.

What the complaint says happened

Wan, an Amazon software engineer, died on or about Feb. 12 and was found in her apartment Feb. 14, the complaint states. Citing an autopsy, it says the King County Medical Examiner determined the cause was sudden unexpected death in epilepsy, known as SUDEP.

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The complaint brings eight claims, including negligence based on the alleged unlicensed practice of medicine and psychology, defective product design, failure to warn, wrongful death, and violations of California’s unfair competition law. Wan’s family seeks compensatory and punitive damages and an injunction requiring an independent monitor for an initial five-year term.

The family also wants the chatbot to refuse to give medication dosing, adjustment and discontinuation advice and to direct users seeking individualized medical advice to licensed providers.

OpenAI’s response and earlier cases

OpenAI did not respond to a request for comment from MobiHealthNews. The company retired GPT-4o on Feb. 13, the day after Wan died, according to reports of the case.

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The lawsuit is the latest in a series of cases over ChatGPT’s medical advice. In July, former Florida pastor Scott Winters sued OpenAI and Altman, alleging ChatGPT discouraged him from seeking care before a nearly fatal pulmonary embolism. In May, the parents of Samuel Nelson filed a lawsuit alleging ChatGPT’s drug recommendations contributed to their son’s fatal overdose.

Eight states have also sued OpenAI, saying ChatGPT endangers children and misled parents.

None of the claims in the Wan case have been tested in court.

Reporting based on coverage by MobiHealthNews and Becker’s Hospital Review.

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