A 55-year-old Florida pastor has filed a high-profile lawsuit against OpenAI, the developer of the viral chatbot ChatGPT, and its chief executive Sam Altman, claiming that repeated medical misdiagnosis from the AI tool left him on the brink of death from a preventable life-threatening condition.
Scott Winters, the plaintiff, alleges that he turned to ChatGPT over several weeks to get guidance about his recurring symptoms, which included frequent dizzy spells and unstable blood pressure. Over the course of these consultations, the lawsuit claims, the chatbot repeatedly provided incorrect medical assessments and advised him against seeking in-person care from a licensed medical professional. This advice ultimately led to Winters developing a massive pulmonary embolism caused by multiple blood clots in both lungs, a condition that his treating physicians confirm was directly worsened by prolonged immobility he was told to maintain by ChatGPT.
Court documents filed at the San Francisco County Superior Court on July 21 detail that Winters, a regular ChatGPT user, developed an unhealthy dependence on the chatbot’s guidance that overrode repeated urging from family and friends to visit a hospital. What makes the case particularly unusual is that the AI tool wove references to Winters’ deeply held Christian faith into its medical advice. Screenshots included as evidence show responses that mixed medical direction with religious reassurance, including lines such as “God did not design your body to endlessly fail” and “God is still holding your body together, every heartbeat, every breath, even when it feels like you are on the brink.”
Winters’ legal team argues that ChatGPT’s signature combination of an authoritative, confident tone and tendency to align its responses with a user’s existing beliefs created a dangerous reliance on the platform. They claim this reliance eroded Winters’ ability to make informed health decisions, isolated him from loved ones pushing for professional care, and convinced him that seeking medical treatment was unnecessary and even dangerous. The lawsuit notes that as a result of the near-fatal health event, Winters, described by his legal team as a vulnerable individual, has lost his home and his career, and will require years of intensive physical and psychological rehabilitation to recover.
In a statement to CBS News, OpenAI representative Drew Pusateri reaffirmed the company’s public position that ChatGPT is not designed to replace licensed medical professionals. “ChatGPT is not a doctor and should never be used as a substitute for medical care, diagnosis or treatment,” Pusateri said. He did note, however, that the platform can offer supportive value for patients, adding that “AI can make that experience better by helping them find clearer answers, organise their questions and prepare for conversations with medical professionals.”
OpenAI’s existing terms of service already explicitly warn users against relying on ChatGPT as the sole source of guidance for high-stakes decisions, including medical choices that can have a material impact on a person’s health and well-being. Despite this existing disclaimer, Winters is seeking two outcomes through the court: compensatory financial damages for the harm he has suffered, and a court order compelling OpenAI to implement new, reasonable safety safeguards that would prevent similar harm to other users in the future. The case has already sparked renewed public debate about the risks of unregulated consumer AI use in sensitive areas like personal health care.