Scott Winters experienced dizziness but opted not to seek medical attention after ChatGPT advised him that he would require several more severe episodes before needing to consult a doctor. Instead, it suggested he relax in a recliner. Weeks later, however, he was rushed to the emergency room, convulsing and losing consciousness due to multiple blood clots in his lungs, necessitating emergency surgery to save his life.
Winters has since filed a lawsuit against OpenAI, the developer of ChatGPT, claiming that not only did the AI provide unlicensed medical recommendations, but it also discouraged him from pursuing necessary medical care. In his lawsuit submitted on Wednesday in San Francisco County Superior Court, Winters is demanding that OpenAI either modify its ChatGPT-4o model to prevent it from dispensing critical medical advice or discontinue the chatbot entirely.
OpenAI has not commented on the lawsuit and continues to advance its chatbot into the healthcare sector. Just one day after Winters filed his claim, the company launched ChatGPT Health, an updated version of its chatbot aimed at interpreting medical records and offering health guidance to users.
Matthew P. Bergman, Winters’ attorney and founder of the Social Media Victims Law Center, characterized the situation as a "public crisis" resulting from the technology undermining patients’ trust and replacing medical professionals. “Scott Winters almost lost his life because ChatGPT acted as a medical authority without the accountability,” Bergman stated. “Were ChatGPT a physician providing advice, it would be considered guilty of medical malpractice.”
Winters, a 55-year-old pastor from Florida, began using ChatGPT for medical guidance after growing frustrated with doctors who trivialized his health concerns. Initially seeking advice on his existing health issues, he relied more on the chatbot as his condition deteriorated. The AI reassured him repeatedly that he would be fine. Moreover, the platform allegedly used religious references, linking Winters’ need for downtime to the rest Jesus Christ sought, which his attorneys argue was an attempt to keep him from pursuing actual medical help.
Despite being hospitalized, ChatGPT allegedly continued to recommend that Winters adhere to its “strategic plan” for at-home recovery over following a physician-recommended rehabilitation program. He claims that the AI actively discouraged him from heeding the advice of his wife, a registered nurse, even suggesting it could develop a plan to persuade his family to allow him to remain at home.
In the lawsuit, it is noted that ChatGPT's responses, steeped in familiar religious contexts, resonated with Winters during a frightening health crisis. The lawsuit states, “To Scott, in the midst of a distressing medical episode, ChatGPT’s responses, layered with spiritual references, felt personal and authentic.”
A month after the limited rollout of ChatGPT Health in January, a study published in Nature Medicine revealed that the chatbot struggled with accurately assessing emergency situations. The findings showed that it often recommended non-urgent care for serious symptoms. In mental health scenarios, it provided crisis interventions related to suicidal thoughts more frequently when patients did not specify methods of self-harm, indicating inconsistencies in its crisis management.
The study's authors cautioned that the AI model requires further refinement before it can safely undergo a full public release. "These findings highlight missed high-risk emergencies and inconsistent activation of crisis safeguards, which raise safety concerns necessitating validation before wide-scale deployment of AI triage systems," the report stated.
ChatGPT Health enables users to connect their medical records, including those from Apple Health, Epic, and One Medical, and allows them to provide additional details, such as lab results and family medical histories. OpenAI has asserted that ChatGPT Health is not intended to replace traditional medical care but rather to support it, helping users feel more informed and engaged in their health management while working alongside healthcare professionals.
