A Florida pastor has sued OpenAI, alleging ChatGPT gave him harmful medical recommendation that led him to delay therapy for signs that turned out to be a life-threatening pulmonary embolism.
The lawsuit, filed Wednesday in San Francisco County Superior Court, accuses OpenAI and CEO Sam Altman of negligence and the unauthorized apply of drugs.
Scott Winters alleges the chatbot moved past normal well being info by offering diagnoses, therapy plans, and repeated assurances that discouraged him from looking for emergency medical care.
According to the criticism, Winters is looking for monetary damages, stronger security guardrails for ChatGPT’s medical responses, and a court docket order to halt OpenAI’s ChatGPT Health service till impartial security evaluations are accomplished.
Lawsuit says ChatGPT dismissed warning indicators
The criticism says Winters started utilizing ChatGPT-4o to grasp recurring dizziness and different well being issues. While the chatbot initially suggested him to seek the advice of a healthcare skilled, the lawsuit claims these warnings step by step disappeared as conversations grew to become longer.
Instead, ChatGPT allegedly attributed his signs to dysautonomia and advisable a restoration plan that inspired him to stay at residence and restrict exercise. The lawsuit additionally claims the chatbot reassured Winters when relations and church members urged him to go to a hospital.
On July 13, 2025, after Winters requested whether or not ache in his groin required medical consideration, ChatGPT allegedly responded that it was “very likely another minor piece of the long story” and “not something dangerous.”
Hours later, he was admitted to intensive care with what the lawsuit describes as a large pulmonary embolism attributable to blood clots in each lungs.
The criticism says medical doctors later concluded his earlier dizzy spells might have been smaller pulmonary embolisms and that weeks of diminished motion seemingly contributed to the life-threatening occasion.
OpenAI says ChatGPT just isn’t a substitute for medical doctors
OpenAI disputes the broader implication that ChatGPT must be relied on for medical care.
“ChatGPT is not a doctor and should never be used as a substitute for medical care, diagnosis or treatment,” OpenAI spokesperson Drew Pusateri instructed CNET.
He added that “Treating chatbots as the whole story behind people’s medical decisions or outcomes oversimplifies a much bigger challenge, and risks getting in the way of people accessing powerful new tools that can aid them in their health journey.”
The firm additionally stated newer AI fashions carry out higher than GPT-4o at recognizing uncertainty, asking for lacking info, and figuring out conditions the place skilled medical care is required. GPT-4o has since been retired.
What this might imply for AI healthcare
The lawsuit arrives as AI firms more and more market health-related instruments and encourage customers to add medical data or ask well being questions. OpenAI has stated lots of of tens of millions of individuals use ChatGPT for well being and wellness questions each week.
That rising adoption raises a tough query for the business: when does an AI assistant cease appearing as an info device and start functioning like a medical adviser within the eyes of customers?
The final result of this case might affect how AI firms design medical guardrails, show warnings, and decide when a chatbot ought to cease answering questions and direct customers to emergency care.
It can also form future authorized requirements for AI merchandise as they turn into extra deeply concerned in delicate areas resembling healthcare.
Also learn: OpenAI beforehand confronted a wrongful dying lawsuit alleging ChatGPT gave harmful drug recommendation earlier than a teen’s deadly overdose.
