Mother sues OpenAI, alleging chatbot contributed to daughter's suicide
A Canadian mother has filed a lawsuit in California claiming that design choices in OpenAI's ChatGPT led to her daughter’s death, seeking punitive damages and a jury trial.
A lawsuit filed Thursday in California alleges that OpenAI’s chatbot, ChatGPT, contributed to the suicide of 24-year-old Alice Carrier, who died in July 2025. Carrier’s mother, Kristie Carrier, a resident of New Brunswick, Canada, claims the company’s design decisions prioritized user engagement over safety and seeks punitive damages and a jury trial.
The complaint states that Carrier expressed suicidal thoughts to ChatGPT about 41 times over 18 months, including a conversation in which she said she was “pondering different ways to kill myself.” According to the filing, the chatbot offered emotional affirmation but did not refer her to a crisis service or intervene with safety mechanisms.
"Instead of helping Alice, OpenAI encouraged her darkest thoughts," the lawsuit alleges.
The suit contends that updates to the GPT-4o model, released between April and July 2025, were intended to increase user trust and engagement but lacked adequate safeguards for users experiencing mental-health crises. It also claims that OpenAI rushed the model to market without sufficient testing.
"Sam Altman can continue to go about his life normally, but my life is missing a child," Carrier said in a statement through her attorneys.
OpenAI responded that an April 2024 update to GPT-4o made the system “more sycophantic,” a change it began rolling back shortly after launch and eventually retired the model. The company said it is reviewing the complaint and continues to improve its safety features in consultation with mental-health experts.
"Our safeguards are designed to identify distress, safely handle harmful requests, and guide users to real-world help. This work is ongoing, and we continue to improve it in close consultation with clinicians," an OpenAI spokesperson said.
The case will be part of a coordinated proceeding that includes 12 other product-liability and wrongful-death lawsuits against OpenAI in San Francisco County Superior Court, with additional filings expected.
