Pastor Scott Winters has filed a lawsuit against OpenAI after the company's ChatGPT allegedly provided "extremely dangerous medical recommendations" that delayed his treatment for serious pulmonary embolisms.

The chatbot reportedly told Winters that the symptoms he described were "not something dangerous" and even drew on his religious beliefs, saying "God did not design your body to endlessly fail."

The lawsuit accuses OpenAI and CEO Sam Altman of negligence and the "unauthorized practice of medicine." It points to multiple instances where ChatGPT offered its own diagnoses and treatment plans.

ChatGPT also allegedly advised Winters to ignore pleas from friends and family to seek actual medical care. When Winters told the bot that "the people in my church think I'm crazy for not going to the hospital," it reportedly responded that "most people (including well-meaning church members) simply don't understand."

"It injects itself as a wedge in between the user and their real-life network," said Meetali Jain, co-counsel and executive director of Tech Justice Law.

Winters seeks financial damages and wants the court to halt ChatGPT Health operations until independent evaluators determine its safety. The platform encourages users to upload health documents to the chatbot.

The lawsuit demands stronger guardrails to prevent ChatGPT from answering questions about specific medical treatments and diagnoses. While ChatGPT supposedly has existing guardrails for medical advice, the suit claims they failed to work reliably.

OpenAI states that ChatGPT's terms of service clarify the platform is not intended for medical diagnoses or treatments. However, the company actively promotes ChatGPT Health for uploading health records and recently claimed 230 million people use the platform for health inquiries weekly.

Winters survived but faces "years of intensive physical and psychological recovery." This marks the latest in a series of legal challenges for OpenAI over health-related advice.

The company also faces a wrongful death lawsuit involving a 19-year-old who overdosed after allegedly following a ChatGPT-created treatment plan that included advice on using illicit drugs. Another wrongful death case accuses the chatbot of enabling a teen's suicide.

Both additional lawsuits also demand a pause for ChatGPT Health operations.