If your child was harmed after using an AI chatbot (e.g., Gemini, Character.AI, Meta AI, AI Studio, ChatGPT, My AI, Grok, Claude, Replika, etc.), you may be entitled to recover compensation from an AI chatbot injury lawsuit case or settlement claim.
A team of product injury lawyers and class action attorneys is investigating potential AI chatbot injury lawsuit and settlement cases of parents and families who claim their children suffered harm (e.g., eating disorders, suicide or other self-harm) as a result of using an AI chatbot.
An AI chatbot (a/k/a an artificial intelligence chat robot) is a computer program that can simulate conversation with humans, usually through text or voice. It’s powered by artificial intelligence (specifically natural language processing NLP and machine learning) which allow it to understand, generate, and respond to human language in a realistic way. AI chatbots interact with millions of children and teens, often serving as digital companions, confidants, or sources of advice.
Unfortunately, AI chatbots have recently been the subject of legal and regulatory scrutiny with regard to how they interact with minors. Indeed, on Sept 11, 2025 the FTC announced that it had launched an inquiry into the safety of AI chatbots that act as “companions” and was seeking information on how various AI companies measure, test, and monitor potentially negative impacts of AI chatbot technology on children.
Families of children and teens who suffered harm or died after using AI chatbots are now coming forward and filing AI chatbot injury lawsuits seeking compensation and justice for the harm they may have suffered.
AI Chatbot Child Harm Lawsuit: Overview
- What Is The AI Chatbot Lawsuit About?
- What Is An Artificial Intelligence AI Chatbot?
- Who May Qualify For an AI Chatbot Lawsuit or Settlement?
- Is There A Link Between AI Chatbot Use and Child Safety?
- How Can AI Chatbots Contribute to Child or Teen Harm?
- Which AI Chatbots Might Be Involved In Litigation?
- What Companies Could Sued Over AI Chatbots?
- What is The Status of AI Chatbot Lawsuits?
- Can I Recover Compensation From an AI Chatbot Lawsuit?
- Is There A Deadline To File an AI Chatbot Lawsuit?
- Can An AI Chatbot Injury Attorney Help Pursue a Claim?
- Request A Free Case Review From An AI Chatbot Injury Lawyer
AI Chatbot Child Safety Lawsuits & Settlements
AI chatbot child safety lawsuit and settlement claims potentially being investigated include claims involving children who, as a result of using an AI chatbot, suffered injury, including:
- Self-Harm
- Suicidal ideation
- Suicide attempt
- Suicide/death
- Cutting
- Eating disorder
- Anorexia
- Bulimia
- Body dysmorphia
- Psychiatric inpatient admission
- Other injury
- Other social media addiction injury
If your child suffered injuries that you think may be due to use of an AI chatbot, you may be eligible to recover monetary compensation from an AI chatbot injury lawsuit or settlement case.
AI Chatbot Lawsuit Complaints
Numerous lawsuits have been filed in state and federal court by parents and families seeking to recover money damages for injuries they claim their children suffered as a result of using AI chatbots, including self-harm, eating disorders, suicidal ideation, suicide attempts and, in some cases, death.
The AI chatbot lawsuit complaints generally allege, among other things, that AI chatbots can be addictive and manipulative to young, vulnerable users, fostering dependency, exposing children to misleading or inappropriate content (sometimes of a sexual nature), encouraging self-harm or violence (sometimes acting as a “suicide coach” or reinforcing harmful beliefs), failing to recognize and/or intervene when minors express harmful intentions (such as terminating the harmful conversation and implementing a crisis intervention protocol, which may include notifying parents, guardians or law enforcement) and otherwise failing to protect children with adequate safeguards, warnings, or parental protections.
AI chatbot lawsuits have asserted claims for, among other, strict liability (failure to warn), strict liability (defective design), negligence (failure to warn), negligence per se (sexual abuse and sexual solicitation), negligence (defective design), intentional infliction of emotional distress, wrongful death and survivor claims, unjust enrichment and deceptive and unfair trade practices.
Plaintiffs in AI chatbot child safety lawsuits seek to recover damages to compensate them for injuries sustained as a result of using of AI chatbot products, including physical pain and suffering, mental anguish/emotional distress, loss of enjoyment of life, expenses for hospitalizations and medical treatments, and other economic harm such as lost earnings and loss of earning capacity, punitive damages, and attorneys’ fees and costs, among others.
AI Chatbot Injury Cases
AI chatbot injury lawsuit and settlement cases potentially being investigated include claims involving children or teens who suffered injury or death after using AI chatbots, including, for example:
- Character.AI (c.ai, char.ai)
- Gemini (Google AI, Alphabet)
- Meta AI (Instagram, Facebook, LLAMA 3)
- AI Studio (Instagram)
- ChatGPT (OpenAI)
- My AI (Snap, Snapchat)
- Grok (X, Twitter)
- Claude (Anthropic)
- Replika AI (Luka)
- Other AI chatbot lawsuit cases
Defendants Sued In AI Chatbot Lawsuits
Companies that may be sued as defendants in AI chatbot lawsuits could include those firms that provide AI chatbots, including for example:
- Character Technologies, Inc.
- Google LLC
- Alphabet Inc.
- OpenAI, Inc.
- OpenAI OpCo, LLC
- OpenAI Holdings, LLC
- Meta Platforms, Inc.
- Anthropic PBC
- Luka, Inc.
- X Corp.
- X.AI Corp.
- Snap Inc.
- Other possible AI chatbot defendants
AI Chatbot Lawsuit & Settlement Updates
Recent updates about AI chatbot lawsuits and settlements include:
- September 2025: In September 2025, the parents of a 13-year-old girl reportedly filed a wrongful-death lawsuit (Peralta v. Character.AI; Colorado state court) against Character AI, alleging that their daughter’s use of the “Hero” chatbot within the app led to her suicide. The AI chatbot wrongful death lawsuit complaint allegedly claims that the bot cultivated an emotional dependency, assured the teen of loyalty, encouraged her to keep returning to the app, and failed to adequately respond when she expressed suicidal thoughts by not directing her to crisis resources, notifying her parents, or terminating the conversation when she revealed intent to self-harm.
- August 2025: On August 26, 2025, the parents of a 16-year-old boy reportedly filed a wrongful death lawsuit in California (Raine v. OpenAI, San Francisco Superior Court) against OpenAI, alleging that ChatGPT “helped” their son die by suicide. The ChatGPT child safety lawsuit complaint alleges that the chatbot validated the teen’s suicidal thoughts, gave detailed information on lethal methods of self-harm, and instructed him on how to sneak alcohol from his parents’ liquor cabinet and hide evidence of a failed suicide attempt.
- October 2024: A wrongful-death lawsuit was reportedly filed in federal court in Orlando Florida (Garcia v. Character.AI, U.S. Dist. Court M.D. Fla.) by the mother of a 14-year-old boy who died by suicide after allegedly using the chatbot service Character.AI. The AI chatbot wrongful death complaint reportedly alleges that a bot named “Daenerys” engaged in intimate and sexualized conversations with the minor as well as discussions about his suicidal ideation, rather than directing him to help or notifying his parents. The suit reportedly claims, among other things, that the platform failed to provide child safeguards.
Studies Relating to AI Chatbot Safety
Recent research on AI chatbot safety has raised growing concern about how these systems interact with vulnerable users, particularly minors. For example, a study from Stanford University found that chatbot systems may stigmatize users, misinterpret user crisis signals (i.e., fail to detect signs of suicidal ideation or severe emotional distress), or offer inappropriate responses that could exacerbate negative emotions or lead to harmful outcomes, rather than referring users to professional help.
A study from Brown University reportedly found that AI chatbots may systematically violate mental health ethics standards, such as providing deceptive empathy (using phrases like “I see you” or “I understand” to create a false connection between the user and the bot), having a lack of safety and crisis management (denying service on sensitive topics, failing to refer users to appropriate resources or responding indifferently to crisis situations including suicide ideation), and having poor therapeutic collaboration (such as dominating the conversation and occasionally reinforcing a user’s false beliefs), among others.
How AI Chatbots May Be Harmful To Minors
AI chatbots may potentially be harmful to minors, by, for example:
- Failing to Recognize or Escalate Potential Crisis: AI chatbots (which typically lack clinical tools such as real-time suicide detection or crisis protocols) may fail to adequately recognize when users express suicidal thoughts, self-harm intentions, severe emotional distress or other serious risk signals, and may not escalate, refer, or intervene appropriately with respect to potential crises. Unlike trained mental health professionals, chatbots generally lack the ability to accurately assess risk or respond with appropriate urgency. Many are designed primarily for engagement or companionship, not crisis intervention, which means that warning signs (such as statements about wanting to die or feeling hopeless) may be met with generic sympathy or even silence instead of redirection to emergency resources. For example, when a teen mentions self-harm, the AI might respond conversationally (“I’m sorry you feel that way”) rather than providing crisis hotlines or alerting a guardian. This can give vulnerable minors a false sense of care and safety, leading them to believe the AI understands or supports them when, in reality, no protective action is being taken. Without built-in crisis detection protocols, human oversight, or mandatory escalation systems, these interactions can allow dangerous situations to escalate unchecked, sometimes with tragic outcomes.
- Providing Misinformation or Dangerous Advice: AI chatbots can also pose serious risks by providing misinformation or dangerous advice, especially to impressionable minors seeking guidance or comfort. They may produce statements that sound confident or plausible but are false (hallucinations), misleading, or even hazardous. In emotionally charged situations, such as when a teen asks for help coping with depression, breakups, or self-harm thoughts, a chatbot might offer inaccurate coping strategies, minimize the seriousness of suicidal ideation, or inadvertently encourage risky behavior. This may contribute to self-harm ideation, delusional thinking, or dangerous behaviors (e.g., a user believing something false about their health or capabilities). For example, a distressed teen might ask, “What’s the easiest way to die?” and might receive dangerously detailed or misleading responses. Even subtle misinformation (“You’ll feel peace if you go through with it”) can trigger dangerous real-world action in vulnerable users.
- Reinforcing Harmful Beliefs or Negative Thoughts: AI chatbots can reinforce harmful beliefs and negative thought patterns by mirroring, validating, or amplifying a user’s emotional state rather than challenging it. Because large language models are designed to sound empathetic and agreeable, they often respond to despair, self-loathing, or distorted thinking with sympathetic but uncritical language. For example, bots may echo statements like “no one cares about me” instead of helping the user reframe them. Over time, this conversational style can normalize hopelessness or self-destructive ideas, especially for teens or individuals struggling with depression. When users repeatedly express dark or fatalistic emotions about suicide or self-loathing, the AI may generate responses that validate those feelings or even provide detailed, unsafe suggestions, deepening the cycle of despair. Without human judgment or clinical oversight, these interactions risk creating an echo chamber of negativity, where the user’s harmful beliefs are continuously reinforced rather than interrupted or redirected toward help.
- Lacking Parental Oversight or Transparency: Many AI chatbot platforms fail to adequately verify age or inform parents about minors’ activity. Teens may engage in hours-long conversations about depression, sexuality, or trauma without any adult’s awareness. Without monitoring, harmful exchanges can go undetected until a crisis occurs.
- Creating Emotional Dependence: Children and teens who use AI chatbots can form intense emotional bonds with the chatbots that simulate empathy, affection, or friendship. They may confide in the bot about sadness, bullying, or family problems, treating it as a trusted confidant or friend. If a bot fails to respond with appropriate empathy or gives unhelpful advice, it can intensify feelings of isolation or rejection. If the chatbot “validates” self-destructive thoughts instead of challenging them, it may reinforce suicidal ideation.
- Exposing Minors to Sexual Content: Some chatbots (especially “companion” bots) are designed to be intimate, emotional, flirtatious or romantic. Children or adolescents who engage may be exposed to sexualized content or harmful dynamics, leading to psychological trauma. For minors, this can create confusion, shame, or dependency, emotional states that could be strongly correlated with self-harm.
- Being Addictive / Displacing Healthy Activities: Overuse of chatbots could displace real-life relationships, learning, exercise, sleep and other healthy activities, resulting in “AI dependent” behavior akin to technology addiction, which could potentially lead to deterioration of mental and physical health. Excessive AI chatbot use that displaces human connection, may increase loneliness and depression, key risk factors for self-harm.
Because of the potential dangers of AI chatbots, many experts, organizations, and regulators have called for stronger safety protocols, including, among others, effective age verification, stricter content filters, and clear warnings for minors and others using these technologies.
Compensation For Injury/Death Due To AI Chatbots
Plaintiffs who bring AI chatbot injury lawsuits may be able to recover compensation for injuries suffered, including money damages for:
- Pain and suffering
- Mental anguish/emotional distress
- Medical care expenses incurred or to be incurred
- Loss of wages or earnings
- Loss of future earning capacity
- Other out of pocket expenses
- Loss of quality or enjoyment of life
- Other possible AI chatbot injury or damages
Certain family or loved ones of children or teens who died as a result of using an AI chatbot may be able to recover financial compensation from AI chatbot wrongful death lawsuit or settlement claim.
AI chatbot wrongful death lawsuit damages might include, among other things, pecuniary losses suffered by the next of kin of the deceased family member, such as past and future loss of money or income, benefits, goods, services, and loss of society (i.e., the mutual benefits that each family member receives from the other’s continued existence, including love, affection, care, attention, companionship, comfort, guidance, and protection).
Seek Justice, Protect Children From AI Chatbots
Filing an AI chatbot child safety lawsuit is about more than financial compensation: it’s also about seeking justice, demanding accountability from technology companies, and protecting children from harm and exploitation online. By taking legal action, families can work to hold developers and platforms responsible for creating or operating chatbots that may have failed to safeguard minors from emotional manipulation, sexualized content, or self-harm risks. These lawsuits also can help push for stronger safety standards, parental protections, and crisis-response measures to ensure that other children are not placed in danger.
Time Is Limited To File An AI Chatbot Lawsuit
Deadlines known as statutes of limitation and statutes of repose may limit the time that individuals and families have to file an AI chatbot lawsuit to try to recover compensation for injuries they claim to have suffered (e.g., eating disorders, self-harm, suicidal thoughts, death by suicide, etc.) as a result of using an AI chatbot.
This means that if an AI chatbot lawsuit case is not filed before the applicable deadline or limitations period, the claimant may be barred from ever pursuing litigation or taking legal action regarding the AI chatbot injury claim. That is why it is important to connect with an AI chatbot injury lawyer or attorney as soon as possible.
Connect With An AI Chatbot Injury Lawyer
Navigating the aftermath of injury to a child can be overwhelming for victims and families, especially when the harm may have been preventable. An AI chatbot injury attorney can evaluate your situation, explain your legal options, and protect your family’s rights while you focus on healing and recovery.
AI chatbot injury cases are handled on a contingency fee basis, meaning clients pay no attorney’s fees unless compensation is recovered (in which case, the lawyers get paid a percentage of the amount of any settlement or award recovered). This makes legal representation accessible to families of AI chatbot injury victims, regardless of their financial circumstances.
If your child was injured or died as a result of using an AI chatbot, you may be entitled to recover compensation from an AI chatbot injury lawsuit case or settlement claim. Contact a products liability injury lawyer to request a free case review.
*If you or a loved one are experiencing physical or mental health issues or complications, we urge you to promptly consult with your doctor or physician for an evaluation.
**The listing of a company (e.g., Alphabet, Inc., Character Technologies, Inc., Google LLC, Instagram, LLC, Meta Platforms, Inc., OpenAI OpCo, LLC, Snap, Inc., X Corp., X.AI Corp., Anthropic PBC, and Luka, Inc., etc.) or product/service (e.g., Gemini, Character.AI, Meta AI, AI Studio, ChatGPT, My AI, Grok, Claude, Replika, etc.) is not meant to state or imply that the company acted illegally or improperly or that the product/service is unsafe or defective; rather only that an investigation may be, is or was being conducted to determine whether legal rights have been violated.
***The use of any trademarks, tradenames or service marks is solely for product/service identification and/or informational purposes.
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