ChatGPT’s medical advice nearly killed pastor, lawsuit claims
A Florida pastor is suing OpenAI after one of its artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots allegedly gave him inaccurate health advice that led to delayed care for a potentially fatal pulmonary embolism.
Scott Winters, 55, filed the lawsuit in the Superior Court of the State of California for the County of San Francisco on Tuesday, July 21. OpenAI, OpenAI OpCo, Sam Altman and a mix of other employees and investors are all listed as defendants.
According to Winters, he exchanged hundreds of messages with OpenAI’s ChatGPT-4o about his health after he started to experience “recurring dizzy spells” and “bouts of blood pressure instability.” The chatbot allegedly told him to stay at home and rest, ensuring him he did not need to seek immediate care.
This went on for weeks until Winters suffered a pulmonary embolism in July 2025 that “brought him to the brink of death.” Even just hours before that incident, the chatbot continued to reassure him that he was not in serious danger. In fact, according to the lawsuit, ChatGPT-4o said “God did not design your body to endlessly fail” as a way to connect with Winters’ faith.
Winters is demanding a jury trial and seeking damages as well as injunctive relief.
Drew Pusateri, a spokesperson for OpenAI, emphasized that the company’s AI models are not intended to stand in for professional healthcare providers.
“Treating chatbots as the whole story behind people’s medical decisions or outcomes oversimplifies a much bigger challenge, and risks getting in the way of people accessing powerful new tools that can aid them in their health journey,” he said.
Pusateri added that OpenAI has already developed newer AI models that are more effective than the resource Winters used to ask about his health. They will ask for missing context, for example, and communicate when professional care may be required.
Michael has more than 19 years of experience as a professional writer and editor. He has written at length about cardiology, radiology, artificial intelligence and other key healthcare topics.