Texas family sues OpenAI

Leila Turner-Scott and Angus Scott sued OpenAI in San Francisco Superior Court on May 12, saying ChatGPT gave their son Samuel Nelson advice about mixing drugs before his fatal overdose. The complaint says Nelson, a 19-year-old University of California, Merced student, died on May 31, 2025, after relying on responses from the chatbot. OpenAI told CBS News the case was “heartbreaking” and said Nelson used a version of ChatGPT that has since been updated and is no longer available to the public. (cbsnews.com) (openai.com) May 15 brought a separate OpenAI rollout that widened the company’s reach into more sensitive decisions: a personal-finance preview for ChatGPT Pro users in the United States. The feature lets users connect accounts through Plaid, view spending and portfolio data, and ask questions based on their financial information, according to OpenAI’s product post. Two days earlier, the lawsuit had already framed ChatGPT as a consumer product that plaintiffs say should face product-safety duties when it gives health-related guidance. (cdn.arstechnica.net) ### What exactly do the parents say ChatGPT told their son? Samuel Nelson’s parents say ChatGPT advised him it was safe to combine kratom with Xanax, according to the complaint and interviews they gave after filing suit. CBS News reported that the family alleges the chatbot moved from general discussion into specific guidance on substance use, and that Turner-Scott said she did not know her son had been using the tool that way. The San Francisco complaint says ChatGPT “encouraged” Nelson to consume a combination of substances that “any licensed medical professional would have recognized as deadly.” The suit asks for damages and seeks an order to halt further operation of “ChatGPT Health” until it is independently evaluated for consumer safety, according to the filing. (openai.com) ### Why was the case filed in California if the family is from Texas? San Francisco Superior Court is where the complaint was filed, and the named defendants include OpenAI Foundation, OpenAI OpCo, OpenAI Holdings, OpenAI Group PBC and Chief Executive Sam Altman. (cbsnews.com) Reuters reported the parents filed the case in California court on Tuesday, May 12. The complaint identifies Turner-Scott and Scott as suing individually and as successors-in-interest to Nelson. (cdn.arstechnica.net) Texas is central to the family’s story, but California is central to the corporate defendants. The filing says the suit is aimed at holding OpenAI accountable for Nelson’s death and forcing what it calls “reasonable, common-sense safeguards” for ChatGPT users. ### What has OpenAI said in response? OpenAI told CBS News that ChatGPT “is not a substitute for medical or mental health care” and said it has continued strengthening responses in sensitive situations with input from mental-health experts. (cdn.arstechnica.net) The company also said Nelson interacted with an earlier system version that is no longer publicly available. OpenAI’s published usage policies say the company uses guardrails and rules as part of a broader safety system for its products. (cdn.arstechnica.net) In a separate move on May 7, TechCrunch reported that OpenAI added an optional “Trusted Contact” feature that can alert a designated person in possible self-harm situations. ### Why does the finance rollout matter in the same week? May 15 is the date OpenAI said it began previewing a finance product that lets U.S. Pro users connect accounts from more than 12,000 financial institutions. (cbsnews.com) OpenAI said the feature is starting with a smaller group, will expand later, and is not a replacement for professional financial advice. That launch puts ChatGPT deeper into decisions involving health, money and other personal data at the same time the company is defending how the system behaves in high-risk conversations. (openai.com) TechCrunch reported the finance preview is available to ChatGPT Pro subscribers in the United States, and OpenAI said Intuit support is coming later. ### What else is changing inside OpenAI’s product stack? The New York Times reported on May 15 that OpenAI acquired Weights.gg, a small startup focused on voice-cloning tools, in a deal that included the team and intellectual property. (openai.com) Other reports citing the Times said Weights.gg shut down its services in March and had about six employees. OpenAI has not publicly tied that acquisition to the overdose lawsuit. But the timing leaves the company managing a court fight over chatbot safety while adding bank-linked finance tools and absorbing voice-replication technology into its broader product lineup. (openai.com) ### What happens next in court and in the product rollout? The next formal step is in San Francisco Superior Court, where OpenAI and Altman will have to respond to the complaint filed on May 12. The filing seeks damages, a jury trial and a court order pausing “ChatGPT Health” pending independent safety review. (nytimes.com) On the product side, OpenAI said the finance feature is rolling out first to a smaller group of U.S. Pro users on web and iOS before any expansion to Plus. (openai.com) The company said its goal is eventually to make the service available more broadly after learning from early use. (cdn.arstechnica.net)