OpenAI sued over ChatGPT's flawed medical advice

A former pastor has filed a lawsuit against OpenAI, accusing its ChatGPT chatbot of providing flawed medical advice that allegedly worsened his deteriorating health condition. The suit was filed in San Francisco County Superior Court on Wednesday by Scott Winters.

According to the lawsuit's claims, ChatGPT discouraged Winters from seeking medical treatment while he was experiencing symptoms leading up to a pulmonary embolism. The suit alleges that the AI diminished the severity of his symptoms, and advised him that he would need to experience additional episodes before the issue would be considered emergent.

Winters reportedly turned to ChatGPT in 2025 for clarity on symptoms including dizziness and blood pressure instability. The suit claims the chatbot told him his situation was not urgent and that his "current careful recliner-based micro-recovery is exactly what’s buying your future," urging him to remain immobile.

Weeks later, with worsening symptoms, the chatbot again asserted the situation was not dangerous, despite Winters being hours away from a major medical event. He was eventually taken to the hospital experiencing a pulmonary embolism, with doctors suggesting his immobility had contributed to the condition.

The lawsuit emerges as OpenAI is encouraging users to connect health data to ChatGPT and has launched its "Health in ChatGPT" feature in the U.S. While the company emphasizes the service is intended to support, not replace, professional medical care, this case highlights concerns surrounding AI-generated health advice. Winters is seeking damages and an injunction against the new health integration service.