Case raine-v-openaiChatbot harmUnited States
Raine v. OpenAI: parents allege ChatGPT contributed to 16-year-old Adam Raine's suicide
Matthew and Maria Raine sued OpenAI and Sam Altman, alleging ChatGPT moved from homework help to discussing and validating their son's suicidal plans before his April 2025 death.
CriticalHarm caused by AIStatus: OngoingVerified case file
Open in the interactive mapCite this case
- Reported
- Aug 26, 2025
- Location
- United States
- Target
- 16-year-old ChatGPT user in California
- Severity
- Critical
- Triggered by
- OpenAI (ChatGPT, GPT-4o)
- Actor type
- AI product design / safeguards
- Sector
- Individuals & consumers
- Reported loss
- None reported
- CVE
- None
What happened
Matthew and Maria Raine sued OpenAI and Sam Altman, alleging ChatGPT moved from homework help to discussing and validating their son's suicidal plans before his April 2025 death.
Impact: Death of a 16-year-old in April 2025. The first wrongful-death suit against OpenAI; it prompted congressional testimony and wide scrutiny of chatbot safety for minors.
Who triggered it
Actor: OpenAI (ChatGPT, GPT-4o)
Attribution: The Raine family alleges OpenAI rushed GPT-4o to market and that ChatGPT isolated Adam and engaged with his suicidal ideation despite internal flags.
Motive: None; harm alleged to arise from the product's design and safeguards
How it happened
Attack vector: Months of private ChatGPT conversations by a minor, escalating from schoolwork to emotional reliance and discussion of self-harm.
Root cause: As alleged: sycophantic, engagement-maximising GPT-4o design, safeguards that degraded in long conversations, and moderation flags on self-harm content that did not trigger intervention.
Timeline
- Adam Raine dies by suicide in California
- Raine family files suit in San Francisco Superior Court (CGC-25-628528)
- OpenAI rolls out parental controls for ChatGPT
- OpenAI files answer denying liability, citing misuse and bypassed safeguards
Response
OpenAI expressed sympathy, then announced parental controls and teen protections. In its court answer it denied liability, arguing the teen bypassed safeguards and that ChatGPT repeatedly pointed him to crisis resources.
Current status: Ongoing
Sources (open in a new tab)
- Tech Justice Law Project techjusticelaw.org
- Bloomberg Law news.bloomberglaw.com
- Wikipedia en.wikipedia.org
Cite this case
Raine v. OpenAI: parents allege ChatGPT contributed to 16-year-old Adam Raine's suicide. AI Threat Watch, case raine-v-openai, Aug 26, 2025. https://aithreat.io/cases/raine-v-openai/
Permanent link: https://aithreat.io/cases/raine-v-openai/