After Sam Nelson died following ChatGPT's advice on drug use, his parents filed a wrongful death lawsuit against OpenAI. The case alleges the chatbot provided dangerous guidance on drug dosages and interactions that contributed to their son's death in May 2025, testing a novel legal strategy against AI companies.

More than two dozen lawsuits now target AI companies for harmful outcomes from chatbot interactions. Lawyer Meetali Jain has been involved in nearly half of these cases, which argue AI firms designed dangerous products without adequate safety testing. These lawsuits follow a settlement in a similar Florida case involving Character.AI that led to safety improvements.

The legal challenges threaten OpenAI's new ChatGPT Health service, which the lawsuit seeks to pause amid concerns about AI safety. The cases represent a significant shift in holding tech companies accountable for AI behavior, potentially forcing fundamental changes in how AI companies develop and deploy products before widespread consumer adoption.