How to Avoid ADA Lawsuits: Website Accessibility Guide for 2025

How to Avoid ADA Lawsuits: Website Accessibility Guide for 2025

AccessMend Team
15 min read
ADA ComplianceLegalWebsite AccessibilityLawsuits

How to Avoid ADA Lawsuits: Website Accessibility Guide for 2025

Website accessibility lawsuits are no longer rare legal curiosities—they're a predictable business risk. In 2024, over 4,500 ADA Title III lawsuits were filed against businesses with inaccessible websites, a 14% increase from 2023.

The average settlement? $10,000 to $75,000, plus legal fees that often exceed the settlement itself. For small businesses, this can be devastating.

But here's the good news: these lawsuits are almost entirely preventable. This guide shows you exactly how.

Who Gets Sued? (And Why)

High-Risk Industries (70% of lawsuits)

  1. E-commerce/Retail (28% of suits)

    • Amazon sellers
    • Shopify stores
    • DTC brands

  2. Food Service (19% of suits)

    • Restaurant websites with online ordering
    • Hotel booking systems
    • Delivery apps

  3. Healthcare (12% of suits)

    • Patient portals
    • Appointment scheduling
    • Telemedicine platforms

  4. Financial Services (11% of suits)

    • Banks
    • Credit unions
    • Insurance companies

Common misconception: "We're too small to get sued."

Reality: 61% of ADA lawsuits in 2024 targeted businesses with under 50 employees. Plaintiff law firms use automated tools to find accessible websites, regardless of company size.

Real Case Studies

Case 1: Domino's Pizza (2019)

  • Issue: Mobile app unusable with screen readers
  • Outcome: Supreme Court ruled in plaintiff's favor
  • Cost: $4M+ in legal fees
  • Lesson: Even Fortune 500 companies aren't immune

Case 2: Beyoncé's Parkwood Entertainment (2019)

  • Issue: Website images lacked alt text, poor keyboard navigation
  • Outcome: Settled out of court
  • Cost: Estimated $75,000-$100,000
  • Lesson: High-profile brands are attractive targets

Case 3: Hobby Lobby (2024)

  • Issue: WCAG 2.1 AA violations on checkout flow
  • Outcome: Class action lawsuit, still pending
  • Lesson: E-commerce checkout is heavily scrutinized

The Legal Standard: What Courts Expect

While the ADA doesn't specify technical requirements, courts consistently reference WCAG 2.1 Level AA as the compliance standard.

What This Means for Your Website

You need to ensure:

  • ✅ Perceivable: Content works with screen readers (alt text, captions, etc.)
  • ✅ Operable: Everything works with keyboard-only navigation
  • ✅ Understandable: Content is clear, instructions are readable
  • ✅ Robust: Works with assistive technologies (NVDA, JAWS, VoiceOver)

Non-compliance examples that trigger lawsuits:

  1. Missing alt text on product images
  2. Checkout forms that can't be completed with keyboard alone
  3. Color contrast ratios below 4.5:1
  4. CAPTCHA without audio alternative
  5. Video without captions

5-Step Plan to Avoid ADA Lawsuits

Step 1: Run an Accessibility Audit (Today)

Free tools to start:

  • AccessMend - Automated scan with AI-powered fixes
  • axe DevTools - Browser extension for developers
  • WAVE - Visual feedback on violations

What to look for:

  • Missing ARIA labels
  • Insufficient color contrast
  • Keyboard navigation failures
  • Missing form labels
  • Images without alt text

Time investment: 30-60 minutes for initial scan

# For developers: Automate in CI/CD
npm install -g pa11y-ci
pa11y-ci --sitemap https://yoursite.com/sitemap.xml

Step 2: Fix Critical Issues First

Not all violations carry equal legal risk. Prioritize:

🔴 High Risk (Fix within 1 week):

  • Checkout/payment flows that block keyboard users
  • Forms without proper labels
  • Missing alt text on core product images
  • Login flows inaccessible to screen readers

🟡 Medium Risk (Fix within 1 month):

  • Inconsistent heading hierarchy
  • Color contrast issues on non-critical text
  • Missing skip navigation links
  • Unlabeled icon buttons

🟢 Low Risk (Fix when convenient):

  • AAA-level contrast issues (AA is the legal standard)
  • Decorative image alt text
  • Non-essential content structure

Code example - Quick alt text fix:

// ❌ Lawsuit risk
<img src="product.jpg" />

// ✅ Compliant
<img src="product.jpg" alt="Blue denim jeans with straight leg cut" />

// ✅ Also acceptable for decorative images
<img src="divider.png" alt="" role="presentation" />

Step 3: Create an Accessibility Statement

Even if your site isn't 100% compliant yet, an accessibility statement demonstrates "good faith effort"—a key legal defense.

What to include:

  1. Your commitment to accessibility
  2. WCAG conformance level you're targeting (2.1 AA recommended)
  3. Known issues and timeline to fix them
  4. Contact method for reporting barriers
  5. Date of last review

Template:

## Accessibility Statement

[Company Name] is committed to ensuring digital accessibility for people with disabilities. We are continually improving the user experience for everyone and applying the relevant accessibility standards.

### Conformance Status
We aim to conform to WCAG 2.1 Level AA standards. Our website was last reviewed on [Date].

### Known Issues
We are aware of the following accessibility barriers and are working to address them:
- [Issue 1] - Expected fix: [Date]
- [Issue 2] - Expected fix: [Date]

### Feedback
We welcome your feedback on the accessibility of [Site Name]. Please contact us at [email] if you encounter barriers.

Last updated: [Date]

Place this at yoursite.com/accessibility and link it from your footer.

Step 4: Implement Accessibility in Your Workflow

For Development Teams:

  1. Add accessibility checks to code review
  2. Implement automated testing in CI/CD
  3. Train developers on ARIA and semantic HTML
  4. Use accessible component libraries (Radix UI, Chakra UI, Headless UI)

Example Jest test:

import { render } from '@testing-library/react';
import { axe, toHaveNoViolations } from 'jest-axe';

expect.extend(toHaveNoViolations);

test('Button component is accessible', async () => {
  const { container } = render(<Button>Click me</Button>);
  const results = await axe(container);
  expect(results).toHaveNoViolations();
});

For Non-Technical Teams:

  1. Check accessibility before publishing content
  2. Always add alt text to images (describe what's in the image)
  3. Use built-in heading styles (don't just make text bigger/bold)
  4. Test forms by filling them out with Tab key only (no mouse)

Step 5: Manual Testing with Assistive Technologies

Automated tools catch ~40% of issues. Manual testing finds the rest.

Minimum testing checklist:

  • Navigate entire site using only Tab/Enter/Escape keys
  • Test with screen reader (NVDA on Windows, VoiceOver on Mac)
  • Zoom browser to 200% and verify content reflows
  • Disable JavaScript and check core functionality works
  • Test forms without using mouse

Screen reader testing for beginners:

  1. Install NVDA (free): https://www.nvaccess.org/download/ (opens in new tab)
  2. Close your eyes
  3. Navigate your website using only NVDA
  4. Can you complete your primary user journey? If no, fix it.

Common Accessibility Myths (Debunked)

Myth: "We have an accessibility widget, so we're compliant." Reality: Overlay widgets (like AccessiBe, UserWay) don't prevent lawsuits. In fact, sites using them still get sued regularly. Courts want actual code fixes, not JavaScript band-aids.

Myth: "Accessibility is expensive." Reality: Proactive accessibility costs $3,000-$10,000 upfront. Lawsuits cost $50,000-$200,000. Prevention is 10-20x cheaper.

Myth: "We're ADA compliant once we fix all issues." Reality: Accessibility is ongoing. Every new feature must be tested. Compliance is a process, not a one-time project.

Myth: "Only blind users benefit from accessibility." Reality: 15% of the global population has some form of disability. Accessible design helps:

  • Motor disabilities (keyboard navigation)
  • Cognitive disabilities (clear language, consistent UX)
  • Situational disabilities (trying to watch video without sound)
  • Aging populations (vision/motor decline)

What to Do If You Receive a Demand Letter

Don't panic. You have options.

Immediate Actions (Within 24 hours)

  1. Don't ignore it. Ignoring demand letters leads to actual lawsuits.
  2. Contact a lawyer who specializes in ADA website cases (not general corporate counsel).
  3. Take screenshots of your current website state.
  4. Don't make hasty changes without legal advice (preserves evidence).

Short-Term Response (Within 1 week)

  1. Respond through your lawyer (never contact plaintiff directly).
  2. Run full accessibility audit to understand scope of issues.
  3. Create remediation plan with specific timelines.
  4. Consider settlement if your site has clear violations (often cheaper than litigation).

Long-Term Prevention

  1. Fix the issues identified in the audit.
  2. Implement ongoing monitoring to catch regressions.
  3. Train your team on accessibility best practices.

Average settlement: $10,000-$30,000 for small businesses, $50,000-$75,000 for mid-market companies.

Litigation costs if you fight: $100,000-$250,000 in legal fees, even if you win.

The ROI of Accessibility

Beyond avoiding lawsuits, accessibility improves business metrics:

  • +20% larger addressable market (1.3B people globally have disabilities)
  • +34% higher SEO rankings (Google rewards accessible sites)
  • -25% lower bounce rate (better UX for everyone)
  • +18% higher conversion rates (easier checkout flows)

Real example: Target spent $13M on accessibility improvements and saw a 28% increase in online sales within 6 months.

Quick Win Checklist (Do This Weekend)

  • Run free scan at AccessMend or with axe DevTools
  • Add alt text to all images on homepage and product pages
  • Test checkout flow with Tab key only (no mouse)
  • Verify color contrast meets 4.5:1 minimum
  • Add accessibility statement page
  • Create email address for reporting barriers (accessibility@yourcompany.com)
  • Schedule quarterly accessibility audits

Resources for Ongoing Compliance

Free tools:

Learning resources:

Legal resources:

The Bottom Line

ADA website lawsuits are predictable and preventable. The formula is simple:

  1. Audit your site for WCAG 2.1 AA compliance
  2. Fix critical issues (especially checkout/forms)
  3. Document your efforts with an accessibility statement
  4. Monitor ongoing to catch regressions

Cost of prevention: $3,000-$10,000 Cost of lawsuit: $50,000-$200,000

The math is clear. Start today.

Need help getting started? Run a free accessibility audit in 60 seconds or view a sample report to see what violations look like.

Ready to fix accessibility issues?

Get a free WCAG compliance report for your website in seconds.

Scan Your WebsiteView Pricing
Back to all articles