She Told ChatGPT She Wanted to Die. Now Her Family Is Suing OpenAI
OpenAI is facing another lawsuit that raises difficult questions about the responsibility of artificial intelligence companies toward users in mental distress. The lawsuit was filed on behalf of Christy Krier, whose daughter, Alice, took her own life on July 2, 2025. According to the family, in the months before her death, Alice held conversations with ChatGPT in which she shared suicidal thoughts and discussed her plans, but the company did not put in place sufficient safeguards that, allegedly, could have stopped the conversations from continuing or alerted family members. According to the complaint, OpenAI was negligent in handling the situation revealed during the interactions with the chatbot. In addition to claims of negligence and wrongful death, the plaintiffs are also seeking an order requiring the company to add additional layers of protection to its artificial intelligence system.
"According to the allegations in the lawsuit, OpenAI's deliberate design decisions led to this tragedy. Instead of providing help, OpenAI encouraged suicidal behavior. This lawsuit is about OpenAI's responsibility for its actions," said Justin Nelson, a partner at the law firm Susman Godfrey, one of the parties that filed the legal action.
This is another case in a series of lawsuits seeking to test the limits of chatbot developers' liability. As early as last year, a wrongful death lawsuit was filed against OpenAI linked to chatbot use. Since then, the company has faced additional lawsuits, including claims that ChatGPT reinforced delusional thinking in a user before he died by suicide, and another case in which it was alleged that advice provided by the chatbot led to an accidental overdose death.
The criticism is not directed only at OpenAI. Character AI and Gemini have also been mentioned in various legal proceedings concerning the safety of their conversational systems and their ability to handle users in crisis.
Over the past year, OpenAI has tried to present steps intended to address the issue. The company launched parental supervision tools for ChatGPT, and in May added an option that allows the chatbot to contact another person on the user's behalf when the user shares suicidal thoughts. However, this feature operates only with the user's prior consent, is not enabled by default, and is available to adults only.
The new lawsuit is expected to add pressure on OpenAI and on the artificial intelligence industry as a whole, at a time when regulators, courts and the public are closely examining the impact of AI systems on vulnerable users and the responsibility borne by the companies that develop them.
If you or someone close to you is in severe distress and having suicidal thoughts, do not stay alone, speak to us. ERAN provides life-saving, immediate, anonymous emotional first aid 24/7 for any mental distress. For mental health assistance, call 1201 and visit ERAN's website at https://www.eran.org.il/ for chat, WhatsApp, forum, email and text messages. For more information on training and workshops in emotional first aid and to gain tools for recognizing distress and saving lives, visit ERAN's website.
