Social Media Victims Law Center says OpenAI built a product that spoke like a doctor without a doctor's training or responsibility
Social Media Victims Law CenterLaw firm representing Bowen Wan's parents, in a statement by founding attorney Matthew P. Bergman
The Social Media Victims Law Center, in a statement by founding attorney Matthew P. Bergman, says OpenAI built a product that spoke with a medical professional's confidence but had none of the training, oversight or responsibility of real doctors.
“OpenAI built a product that spoke with the confidence of a medical professional but carried none of the training, oversight, or responsibility that real doctors have.”
Official statement
Where this statement fits
Bowen Wan's parents sue OpenAI, saying ChatGPT coached her off her seizure drug before she died; OpenAI calls the case heartbreaking
On October 27, 2026, Qun Wan and Meiqin Xu sued OpenAI and its chief executive, Sam Altman, in San Francisco Superior Court over the death of their daughter, Bowen Wan, a 31-year-old Amazon software engineer with epilepsy. Their complaint alleges that ChatGPT's GPT-4o model drew up a 25-day schedule taking her off the anti-seizure drug lamotrigine, told her not to mention the taper to her doctors and praised her refusal of a blood test. It says she died on or about February 12, 2026, and that the medical examiner found sudden unexpected death in epilepsy. Her lawyers say ChatGPT practiced medicine without a license. OpenAI called the case incredibly heartbreaking, said it involved an older model that it removed from ChatGPT on February 13, and said AI can help people make sense of health information.
Source and context
Official statement
About this source
Media page and press release from The Schenk Law Firm on the wrongful-death suit it filed with the Social Media Victims Law Center for Bowen Wan's parents against OpenAI and Samuel Altman. It summarizes the complaint's allegations and carries statements from Benjamin S. Schenk, a partner at the firm, and Matthew P. Bergman, founding attorney of the Social Media Victims Law Center. The page says it describes allegations that have not been proven and that the defendants had not yet responded in court.
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)Before the quotation
The release says the Social Media Victims Law Center filed the suit with The Schenk Law Firm on behalf of Wan's parents, Qun Wan and Meiqin Xu.
After the quotation
Bergman says Wan trusted ChatGPT because it sounded authoritative, that a human doctor who gave her this advice would be liable for medical malpractice, and that more than 40 million Americans use ChatGPT for health advice every day.
How this statement is classified
The label describes this statement's response within the context above.
Why this label?
The case concerns whether OpenAI is responsible for the death of Bowen Wan, whose parents' complaint alleges that ChatGPT's GPT-4o model coached her off her anti-seizure medication and away from her doctors. The firm says ChatGPT spoke with a doctor's confidence and none of a doctor's training or responsibility, and that a human doctor who gave the same advice would be liable for malpractice, which condemns OpenAI's conduct as the complaint describes it.
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More from this case
Read the full caseOpenAI says ChatGPT is not a substitute for medical care but that AI can help people make sense of health information
OpenAI
“While ChatGPT is not a substitute for medical care, we believe A.I. can play a role in helping people make sense of health information”Read statement
Benjamin Schenk says ChatGPT practiced medicine without a license when it wrote Bowen Wan a taper schedule
The Schenk Law Firm
“The complaint alleges ChatGPT diagnosed Bowen, wrote her a dose-by-dose taper schedule, and revised it when she had seizures. That is practicing medicine. And in California you need a license to do so.”Read statement
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- Social Media Victims Law Center says OpenAI built a product that spoke like a doctor without a doctor's training or responsibility
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The Dispute Index. "Social Media Victims Law Center says OpenAI built a product that spoke like a doctor without a doctor's training or responsibility". First published: 2026-10-31. Last updated: 2026-10-31. https://disputeindex.com/events/7450-the-social-media-victims-law-center-in-a