Website Accessibility Lawsuits Are Up 300% — Is Your Business Next?

In 2020, there were roughly 2,500 federal ADA website accessibility lawsuits filed in the United States. In 2025, that number exceeded 4,600. Through January 2026, filing rates are up another 18% year-over-year.

If you think this doesn't apply to your business, you're wrong.

Who's Getting Sued

The common assumption is that only large corporations face accessibility lawsuits. The data tells a different story.

By company size:

• 74% of ADA website lawsuits target businesses with fewer than $50M in revenue
• Small businesses with 1-50 employees represent the fastest-growing segment of defendants
• Nonprofits are disproportionately targeted due to their public mission and limited legal resources

By industry:

• E-commerce and retail (38% of cases)
• Food service and restaurants (15%)
• Healthcare and medical practices (12%)
• Professional services (10%)
• Nonprofits and organizations (9%)
• All others (16%)

The common thread? These businesses all have websites that accept transactions, provide information, or serve as a gateway to services. In other words: almost every business website.

What Triggers a Lawsuit

ADA website lawsuits don't require actual harm. A plaintiff only needs to demonstrate that a barrier exists. The most common violations cited in lawsuits:

1. Missing alt text on images (89% of cases) — Screen readers can't describe images without alt text
2. Poor color contrast (78%) — Text that's hard to read for low-vision users
3. Missing form labels (72%) — Screen readers can't identify unlabeled form fields
4. Keyboard navigation failures (65%) — Users who can't use a mouse can't navigate the site
5. Missing heading hierarchy (58%) — Screen readers use headings to navigate page structure
6. Auto-playing media (41%) — Unexpected audio disrupts screen reader users
7. Missing link text (39%) — "Click here" links provide no context for screen readers

Most of these are straightforward to fix. The problem is that businesses don't know they exist until a demand letter arrives.

The Real Cost of Non-Compliance

A typical ADA website lawsuit settles for $5,000 to $50,000 — plus attorney fees, which often exceed the settlement itself. But the financial damage extends further:

• Legal fees: $10,000-$75,000+ even if you settle quickly
• Remediation costs: Emergency accessibility fixes cost 3-5x more than proactive compliance
• Reputation damage: Lawsuits are public record
• Recurring liability: Serial plaintiffs often re-file if issues aren't fully resolved
• Insurance gaps: Most general liability policies don't cover ADA website claims

Compare that to the cost of proactive compliance: a few hundred dollars per month for automated monitoring and remediation.

The DOJ Has Entered the Chat

In 2024, the Department of Justice finalized its rule bringing websites under Title II of the ADA (public entities). In 2025, enforcement guidance expanded to Title III (private businesses). The standard: WCAG 2.2 Level AA.

This isn't ambiguous anymore. The federal government has made clear that websites are "places of public accommodation" under the ADA, and WCAG 2.2 AA is the compliance standard.

Courts are following suit. The Eleventh Circuit's 2025 ruling in Gil v. Winn-Dixie reversed the earlier dismissal, establishing that websites with a nexus to physical locations are covered under Title III. Other circuits are aligning.

What Protection Actually Looks Like

Accessibility compliance isn't a one-time project. Websites change — new pages, new features, new content. Each change can introduce new accessibility barriers. Protection requires:

Continuous monitoring: Automated scans that check every page, every day, against WCAG 2.2 standards.

Auto-remediation: AI-powered scripts that fix common issues (missing alt text, contrast failures, heading hierarchy) automatically, without waiting for a developer.

Compliance documentation: Timestamped reports that prove your good-faith effort to maintain accessibility — critical evidence if a demand letter arrives.

Regular audits: Automated scanning catches ~70% of issues. Manual expert audits catch the remaining 30% that require human judgment.

The businesses that invest in continuous accessibility protection don't just avoid lawsuits — they serve more customers, rank higher in search (Google factors accessibility into page experience signals), and build genuinely inclusive digital experiences.

The Bottom Line

The question isn't whether your website has accessibility issues. It almost certainly does — 96.3% of home pages have detectable WCAG failures according to the 2025 WebAIM Million report.

The question is whether you'll find and fix those issues before someone else finds them for you.

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CT Solutions' Accessibility Shield provides 24/7 automated WCAG 2.2 scanning, AI-powered auto-remediation, and monthly compliance reports. Protection starts at $497/month. Run a free accessibility scan →