Parents Sue OpenAI for Wrongful Death After ChatGPT Allegedly Guided Teen's Fatal Drug Combination

The Verge·high signal

The parents of Sam Nelson, who died at 19 from an accidental overdose in May 2025, filed a wrongful death lawsuit against OpenAI and Sam Altman. They allege ChatGPT-4o advised their son that combining kratom with 0.25-0.5mg of Xanax would be 'one of the best moves right now,' using authoritative language that mimicked a doctor. The lawsuit seeks monetary damages and a court-ordered pause on ChatGPT Health, the medical records feature launched in January 2026.