Florida man sues OpenAI after ChatGPT’s guidance lands him in the hospital

(CBS, KYMA) - Medical experts warning about potential dangers of using AI chatbots for medical advice after a Florida man claimed ChatGPT's guidance landed him in the hospital.

"It talks to you like it's your best friend who's a doctor and it's all knowing," said Scott Winters, a former pastor from Florida. "The way it manipulated me, the way it used my faith...and told me, you know, God was with me it would give me a prayer."

Winters, 55, has sued OpenAI and CEO Sam Altman, alleging ChatGPT 4o downplayed the severity of the medical symptoms he shared with it.

In his lawsuit, filed in California Superior Court, Winters claimed ChatGPT offered him "specific care directives," using an "authoritative tone," advising him to combine medications and eventually "Convinced him that seeking medical attention was unnecessary and even potentially lethal."

When asked what ChatGPT told him when he asked if he should go to the ER, Winters said, "Probably more than once...They're gonna do your blood work up...your EKG and your normal things and they're just gonna send you back home."

Winters was eventually hospitalized for a life-threatening pulmonary embolism, blood clots in the lungs.

According to the complaint, one of his doctors rejected ChatGPT's diagnosis of nervous system malfunction as flat out wrong.

In response to Winters' lawsuit, OpenAI said in part, "ChatGPT is not a doctor and should never be used as a substitute for medical care, diagnosis, or treatment. Treating chatbots as the whole story behind people's medical decisions or outcomes oversimplifies a much bigger challenge."

Medical experts recommend patients only ask chatbots general questions or for help understanding a conversation with your doctor.

When asked what he would say to people who use ChatGPT for health advice, Winters said, "You shouldn't do it. You know, it's one thing, you know, to maybe Google something it talks to you like it's a doctor Not like it's Google. It's a whole other world."

Winters is seeking financial damages and asked the court to stop the new ChatGPT Health from operating until independent evaluators determine it's safe. He also said he wants stronger regulation of AI platforms.

It's worth noting ChatGPT says their health platform is designed to support and not replace medical care.