--- description: Find out why Matthew P. Bergman and Laura Marquez-Garrett is on the TIME100 Health 2026 list. title: TIME100 Health: Matthew P. Bergman and Laura Marquez-Garrett image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt77cc21656212b9b9/6998ce5083ec37d5a7c7b6ab/T100-Health-2026-Bergman-Marquez-Garrett.png?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 --- Feb 11, 2026 # Matthew P. Bergman and Laura Marquez-Garrett Challenging tech’s mental health impact by [Angela Haupt](/author/angela-haupt/) ## Angela Haupt Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close  Courtesy of Gavin Haag Photography More than 4,000 families have enlisted the Social Media Victims Law Center (SMVLC) on behalf of their children, who they say were irreparably harmed by social-media apps and AI chatbots. Founder Matthew P. Bergman has led the charge alongside fellow attorney Laura Marquez-Garrett, propelled by what he views as a “public-health emergency.” Since January 2022, the SMVLC has filed lawsuits against tech giants—like [Meta](https://socialmediavictims.org/meta-lawsuit/ "undefined"), [TikTok](https://socialmediavictims.org/tiktok-lawsuit/ "undefined"), [OpenAI](https://time.com/7334078/matthew-bergman-social-media-victims-lawsuits/ "undefined"), and [Character.AI](http://character.ai "undefined")—including cases in which victims [have died by suicide](https://socialmediavictims.org/meta-lawsuit/ "undefined") after allegedly being encouraged to do so on the platforms. In May, a federal judge ruled that a first-of-its kind wrongful death [suit](https://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/lawsuit-against-character-technologies-3553064/ "undefined") against Character.AI and Google could move forward—a milestone in holding platforms accountable.(The two companies [settled with the family](https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/07/technology/google-characterai-teenager-lawsuit.html "undefined") in January.)“These are people who have suffered the worst loss anybody could imagine,” Bergman says. “I've never had clients who care less about the money and more about the justice.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"Article","@id":"https://time.com/collections/time100-health-2026/7362599/laura-marquez-garrett-and-matthew-p-bergman/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/collections/time100-health-2026/7362599/laura-marquez-garrett-and-matthew-p-bergman/"},"headline":"Matthew P. Bergman and Laura Marquez-Garrett","datePublished":"2026-02-11T13:01:17.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-31T05:18:24.162Z","description":"Find out why they're on the TIME100 Health 2026 list.","url":"https://time.com/collections/time100-health-2026/7362599/laura-marquez-garrett-and-matthew-p-bergman/","keywords":["TIME100 Health 2026","list","franchise","Magazine","Special Project","sponsorshipblock","Accolades"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt77cc21656212b9b9/6998ce5083ec37d5a7c7b6ab/T100-Health-2026-Bergman-Marquez-Garrett.png?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Angela Haupt","jobTitle":"","url":"https://time.com/author/angela-haupt/"}],"creator":"Angela Haupt","articleSection":"Health","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt77cc21656212b9b9/6998ce5083ec37d5a7c7b6ab/T100-Health-2026-Bergman-Marquez-Garrett.png?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/health/","name":"Health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time100-health-2026/","name":"TIME100 Health 2026"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/collections/time100-health-2026/7362599/laura-marquez-garrett-and-matthew-p-bergman/","name":"Matthew P. Bergman and Laura Marquez-Garrett"}}]}] ```