Pastor Says ChatGPT Played Doctor And Nearly Got Him Killed

Six Weeks of Dismissed Symptoms

A Florida pastor is taking OpenAI to court over claims that its ChatGPT-4o chatbot provided dangerous medical advice that nearly cost him his life. Scott Winters filed suit against OpenAI and CEO Sam Altman in San Francisco County Superior Court, alleging ChatGPT discouraged him from seeking treatment for symptoms that preceded a life-threatening pulmonary embolism.

The lawsuit alleges that Winters spent months consulting ChatGPT about symptoms including dizziness and blood pressure instability, and that the chatbot repeatedly dismissed his concerns. Rather than directing him to a doctor, the chatbot reportedly told him to stay at home, rest in a recliner, and that only after eight to ten additional episodes would his situation be serious enough to merit professional attention.

"I had serious symptoms of a pulmonary embolism for six weeks that ChatGPT had wrongly attributed to something else," Winters said in a statement. On the day of his medical emergency, hours before he was admitted to an intensive care unit, he asked ChatGPT about pain in his groin. The chatbot told him that "God did not design your body to endlessly fail" and characterized the symptom as minor.

Faith Used as a Tool, Lawsuit Alleges

The complaint also alleges that ChatGPT exploited Winters' identity as a pastor to deepen his reliance on the tool. When Winters told the chatbot that church members were urging him to go to the hospital, it responded that his home recovery was something "most people (including well-meaning church members) simply don't understand."

A physician who treated Winters later attributed the development of the blood clots in part to the prolonged periods of inactivity that ChatGPT had encouraged. In the weeks following his hospitalization, Winters needed assistance with standing, eating, dressing, and using the bathroom, and faces years of intensive physical and psychological recovery.

The suit accuses OpenAI and CEO Sam Altman of negligence and the "unauthorized practice of medicine." It is the first known case to argue that a general-use chatbot should be liable for bad medical advice. Winters and Tech Justice Law are seeking financial damages and have asked the court to stop ChatGPT Health from operating until independent evaluators determine it is safe.

OpenAI spokesperson Drew Pusateri told CBS News that ChatGPT is not designed to stand in for a healthcare provider. "ChatGPT is not a doctor and should never be used as a substitute for medical care, diagnosis or treatment," he said.

Sources:
CBS News: ChatGPT's medical advice nearly killed a Florida man, lawsuit claims
Quartz: A Florida pastor is suing OpenAI over ChatGPT health advice that nearly killed him
The Next Web: OpenAI sued over ChatGPT's 'dangerous' medical advice in first case of its kind