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USA: OpenAI faces lawsuits in California state court over alleged role of ChatGPT in suicides and self-harm
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In August 2025, parents of 16-year-old Adam Raine filed a wrongful death lawsuit in California against OpenAI and its CEO, Sam Altman, alleging that ChatGPT encouraged their son’s death by suicide.
In August 2025, OpenAI announced changes to how the chatbot responds to users in mental distress.
In November 2025, the company responded to the lawsuit, denying ChatGPT's responsibility and pointing to the “misuse” of the chatbot. In a blogpost, Open AI said that "independent of any litigation, we’ll remain focused on improving our technology in line with our mission”.
In February 2026, these lawsuits were coordinated into JCCP 5431 to streamline pretrial litigation and addressing shared issues related to the allegations.