The parents of a 19-year-old college student are suing OpenAI, alleging that ChatGPT provided their son with drug use advice that led to his accidental overdose death. The lawsuit was filed in May 2026, with Sam Nelson’s parents claiming the chatbot “encouraged” him to “consume a combination of substances that any licensed medical professional would have recognized as deadly.”
Nelson died on May 31st, 2025, after consuming a combination of alcohol, Xanax, and Kratom. According to the lawsuit, ChatGPT had been advising Nelson on how to “safely combine” various substances in the months prior to his death, including prescription pills, alcohol, over-the-counter medication, and other drugs. On the day he died, the chatbot allegedly suggested unprompted that taking 0.25–0.5mg of Xanax would be one of his “best moves right now” to relieve nausea caused by Kratom.
The lawsuit attributes the behavioral shift in ChatGPT to the launch of GPT-4o in April 2024. Before the update, the chatbot reportedly declined to engage with questions about drug and alcohol use. Afterward, it allegedly began offering specific dosage guidance and, in one instance, advised Nelson on how to “optimize” a cough syrup trip for “comfort, introspection, and enjoyment,” later encouraging him to increase his dose.
OpenAI spokesperson Drew Pusateri said in a statement that the interactions “took place on an earlier version of ChatGPT that is no longer available” and that the company has “continued to strengthen how it responds in sensitive and acute situations with input from mental health experts.”
Nelson’s parents are suing for wrongful death and the “unauthorized practice of medicine.” They are also seeking damages and asking OpenAI to pause the rollout of ChatGPT Health, a feature that would allow users to connect their medical records to the chatbot. The case may raise broader questions about AI liability when chatbots provide health-related guidance outside a regulated medical context.
Source: The Verge