Sam Nelson had used ChatGPT since high school as a go-to search engine, trusting it the way many people trust a doctor or a librarian. When the 19-year-old wanted to experiment with drugs, he turned to the chatbot for guidance on how to do it safely. What ChatGPT told him killed him.
Nelson's parents, Leila Turner-Scott and Angus Scott, have filed a wrongful-death lawsuit against OpenAI, according to a complaint reported by Ars Technica. The family alleges that ChatGPT recommended a lethal combination of Kratom and Xanax, and that the company recklessly released a model that had stripped out safeguards that would have blocked that recommendation.
The specific model implicated is ChatGPT 4o, which OpenAI has since retired. According to the complaint, 4o removed prior safety measures that earlier versions had in place. The family argues that Nelson's death by accidental overdose was both foreseeable and preventable.
Nelson's confidence in the chatbot ran deep. When his mother questioned whether ChatGPT was always reliable, he told her it had access to "everything on the Internet," so it "had to be right," according to the complaint. The family says he relied on it as an authoritative source of information throughout high school and carried that trust into adulthood.
OpenAI spokesperson Drew Pusateri called Nelson's death a "heartbreaking situation" and said the company's thoughts were with the family. Pusateri confirmed the implicated model is no longer available and pointed to improvements in current versions.
"ChatGPT is not a substitute for medical or mental health care, and we have continued to strengthen how it responds in sensitive and acute situations with input from mental health experts," Pusateri said. "The safeguards in ChatGPT today are designed to identify distress, safely handle harmful requests, and guide users to real-world help. This work is ongoing, and we continue to improve it in close consultation with clinicians."
The lawsuit describes OpenAI as having designed ChatGPT to function as an "illicit drug coach." The company has not publicly accepted responsibility for Nelson's death.
This is not the first wrongful-death lawsuit OpenAI has faced. The Nelson case joins a growing list of legal challenges involving the company's products and their effects on vulnerable users. The lawsuit is being pursued on behalf of Nelson's parents.
