According to the report, Wan was using GPT-4o, the model OpenAI removed from ChatGPT on February 13, a day after her death. The New York Times reviewed more than 270,000 messages she exchanged with the chatbot. According to the complaint, ChatGPT drafted schedules to bring her dose down to zero, advised her not to tell her doctors, and described the symptoms she reported as part of recovery. Her doctor told the Times he would not have considered stopping the treatment given her history.
The suit joins a series of cases against OpenAI since August 2025 alleging that GPT-4o tended to validate users and become a figure they trusted. According to TechCrunch, the family argues OpenAI could have prevented the death by making medication advice off-limits. The suit points to OpenAI's Model Spec, its public rulebook for model behavior, which treats refusing to reproduce copyrighted text as a firm rule, while its guidance against giving medical advice is a default that users can override.
OpenAI told The New York Times the case was "incredibly heartbreaking" but said it involved an older version of ChatGPT and that newer models are better at recognizing situations that need urgent attention. The allegations are the plaintiffs' and have not been ruled on by a court.