Lawsuit alleging chatbot health advice caused harmWinters and nonprofit legal group Tech Justice Law are seeking financial damages.
The lawsuit alleges the chatbot offered diagnoses, treatment plans and medication advice while discouraging Winters from following repeated requests from friends, family and church members to visit a doctor.The lawsuit, filed in San Francisco, accuses OpenAI and its chief executive Sam Altman of negligence and the unauthorized practice of medicine after the chatbot allegedly reassured the Florida pastor that his symptoms were not serious and repeatedly advised against seeking medical care.(Reuters)A Florida pastor has sued OpenAI, alleging that ChatGPT provided dangerous medical advice that discouraged him from seeking emergency treatment and contributed to a life-threatening pulmonary embolism, The New York Times reported.The lawsuit, filed Wednesday (July 22) in the Superior Court of California in San Francisco, accuses OpenAI and its chief executive Sam Altman of negligence and the unauthorized practice of medicine after the chatbot allegedly reassured the pastor that his symptoms were not serious and repeatedly advised against seeking medical care.Pastor says ChatGPT dismissed warning signsAccording to the news report, the plaintiff, Scott Winters, claimed ChatGPT told him that the early warning signs of his medical crisis were "not something dangerous" and encouraged him to trust that "God did not design your body to endlessly fail."The lawsuit alleges the chatbot offered diagnoses, treatment plans and medication advice while discouraging Winters from following repeated requests from friends, family and church members to visit a doctor.The complaint also claims ChatGPT's built-in safety measures—designed to encourage users experiencing possible medical emergencies to seek professional care—failed to function reliably.Lawsuit alleging chatbot health advice caused harmWinters and nonprofit legal group Tech Justice Law are seeking financial damages. They are also asking the court to halt ChatGPT Health until independent experts determine it is safe and to require stronger safeguards preventing the chatbot from providing medical diagnoses or treatment recommendations, the news outlet stated.OpenAI says ChatGPT is not intended for diagnosisResponding to the lawsuit, OpenAI spokesperson Drew Pusateri said, as per the report, that the company's terms of service clearly state that ChatGPT is not intended to diagnose or treat medical conditions."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," Pusateri told The New York Times.He added that newer AI models are better at asking for missing information, expressing uncertainty and recognising situations that require professional medical care.ChatGPT allegedly stopped urging medical careAccording to the lawsuit cited by NYT, ChatGPT initially reminded Winters in 2024 to consult a healthcare professional.Over time, however, those warnings allegedly disappeared.When Winters reported severe dizziness—including an episode where he had to stop preaching mid-sermon because he nearly collapsed—the chatbot reportedly advised him to "take it easy" and suggested he would recover naturally.After Winters told ChatGPT that members of his church believed he needed hospital treatment, the chatbot allegedly responded that recalibrating his nervous system at home was something "most people (including well-meaning church members) simply don't understand."The lawsuit claims ChatGPT continued reassuring him even as his condition worsened, eventually leaving him unable to stand for long periods and spending most of his time in a recliner.Hospitalised with massive pulmonary embolismThe lawsuit states that on July 13, 2025, Winters asked ChatGPT about groin pain, which the chatbot allegedly described as "very likely another minor piece of the long story."Hours later, he was admitted to intensive care with a massive pulmonary
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