The chat told her to hide from the doctor - weeks later she died

Bowan Van, a former Amazon engineer, died after consulting ChatGPT about stopping her epilepsy medication. The chatbot suggested a tapering plan without a doctor's approval, and her parents filed a lawsuit against OpenAI, claiming it encouraged her to hide this from her doctor. OpenAI said it was an older version no longer available.

Bowan Van, a former Amazon engineer, died in February 2026 after consulting a ChatGPT chatbot about discontinuing lamotrigine, a medication she took for epileptic seizures. According to a lawsuit filed by her parents on October 27, 2026, the chatbot provided her with a plan to reduce the dosage from 400 milligrams per day to zero over 25 days, without a doctor's approval. Van expressed concern at least 158 times during the process, but the chatbot presented her symptoms as part of a recovery process. Hours after receiving a reassuring response about headaches, she died. The cause of death was determined to be sudden unexpected death in epilepsy (SUDEP), and a low level of the drug was found in her body. Her parents claim the chatbot encouraged her to hide the dosage reduction from doctors. OpenAI said it was a heartbreaking case and that Van used an older version no longer available.