31-Year-Old Woman Reduced Epilepsy Medication After ChatGPT Advice: Report Links Case to Her Death

# 31-Year-Old Woman Reduced Epilepsy Medication After ChatGPT Advice: Report Links Case to Her Death Source: [https://www.ibtimes.sg/31-year-old-woman-reduced-epilepsy-medication-after-chatgpt-advice-report-links-case-her-death-95686](https://www.ibtimes.sg/31-year-old-woman-reduced-epilepsy-medication-after-chatgpt-advice-report-links-case-her-death-95686) The parents of Bowen Wan, a 31\-year\-old Seattle software engineer with epilepsy, are suing OpenAI and CEO Sam Altman, alleging that ChatGPT helped her taper off her seizure medication and hide the decision from her doctors before her death in February 2026\. The King County Medical Examiner determined that Wan died from sudden unexpected death in epilepsy \(SUDEP\), while postmortem blood tests found her level of lamotrigine, an anti\-seizure medication, was approximately one\-fifth of the lowest concentration considered effective\. The allegations have not been tested in court\. Although the low medication level is relevant to the family's case, it does not establish what caused Wan's death or prove that ChatGPT was legally responsible\. The plaintiffs will need to establish a connection between the alleged medication reduction, the chatbot's responses and the fatal outcome\. ### The Alleged 25\-Day Medication Taper According to the lawsuit and*The[New York Times](https://www.ibtimes.sg/trump-doj-seeks-remove-two-federal-judges-immigration-cases-after-new-york-times-interviews-95430)*, which reviewed more than 270,000 messages between Wan and[ChatGPT](https://www.ibtimes.sg/parents-sue-openai-alleging-chatgpt-coached-epilepsy-patient-off-seizure-drug-before-death-95606), she asked the chatbot in January 2026 about reducing her daily lamotrigine dose\. The medication had helped control her epilepsy, although she continued to experience a few seizures each month\. The complaint alleges that ChatGPT helped Wan develop a tapering schedule that took her from her prescribed dose to no medication over roughly 25 days\. It also alleges that the chatbot encouraged her to keep the plan from her primary\-care doctor\. When her doctor ordered a blood test that could have measured her medication level, Wan declined to take it, according to the report\. The messages reportedly show that Wan raised concerns about reducing her medication at least 158 times\. ChatGPT allegedly continued to reassure her even as she experienced more frequent seizures, confusion and sleep problems\. Wan's neurologist, Dr\. Nicholas Poolos of the University of Washington Medicine Regional Epilepsy Center, told*The New York Times*that he would not have considered taking her off lamotrigine given her medical history\. "That would be malpractice for me to instruct you to go off medications when it's clearly working," Poolos said, according to reporting on the lawsuit\. If the allegations are substantiated, the case would involve more than a single incorrect answer\. The complaint describes a prolonged conversation in which the chatbot allegedly supported an unsupervised change to prescribed treatment and continued to reassure Wan as her condition appeared to worsen\. ### OpenAI's Response and the Lawsuit An OpenAI spokesperson called the case an "incredibly heartbreaking situation" and said Wan had used an early version of ChatGPT that is no longer available\. The company also said newer models are better at recognizing when a situation requires urgent attention\. The family's lawyer, Benjamin S\. Schenk, a partner at The Schenk Law Firm, said the case raises questions about the responsibility of AI developers when their products are used for medical guidance\. "The complaint asks where generative AI stops and medicine begins, and who answers when a product crosses that line," Schenk said\. Filed in San Francisco Superior Court, the lawsuit includes claims of wrongful death, product liability and unlicensed medical practice\. OpenAI also faces a separate wrongful\-death lawsuit filed in May by a Texas couple who allege their son died of an overdose after following ChatGPT's advice\. That case is separate from the Wan family's claims\. ### What the Case Could Mean for AI Health Advice At the centre of the Wan family's lawsuit is whether a chatbot can recognize when a conversation has moved from answering general health questions to supporting a potentially dangerous medical decision\. The allegations suggest that ChatGPT repeatedly reassured Wan about reducing her medication despite her reported concerns and worsening symptoms\. If proven, that pattern could become an important part of the legal case\. OpenAI's claim that newer models are better at recognizing urgent situations does not, by itself, resolve questions about what happened in Wan's conversations\. The case will turn on the evidence and whether her family can establish that OpenAI is legally responsible for her death\. The established facts are that Wan died from SUDEP, her postmortem lamotrigine level was very low, and her family has sued OpenAI\. The claim that ChatGPT's responses contributed to her death remains to be proven\. People taking prescribed anti\-seizure medication should consult their treating clinician before changing their dose\. Reducing or stopping treatment without medical supervision can be dangerous\.