The Americans With Disability Act (ADA) jumped to the front of my project list recently after receiving a call from a client that was getting sued due to non-compliance. Ironically, said client and I had briefly discussed this possibility months prior, but the issue was tabled for the time being, waiting on them to decide whether to make the investment.

That changed quickly!

Lawsuits create a compelling urgency for motivating action. Unfortunately, however, they can also be both costly, and tend to put a company on the radar for follow up or later legal problems. While we could debate to great length what types of companies actually need to be ADA complaint, the fact of the matter is that anyone with a website can be sued for accessibility issues.

Bear in mind, that doesn't necessarily mean the website is legally in error! And it doesn't really matter whether or not the lawsuit has merit. It's simply all about having the ability to sue.

That's why a great number of these lawsuits - right or wrong - get settled out of court. In such cases, settling is simply the most cost effective way for the business to deal with them. And, it's that dynamic that encourages further lawsuits — sometimes even by the same lawyer that brought the first one (using a different "client" of course). So, even though settling may be the most expedient way to discharge a single lawsuit, it could also make you look like an easy mark.

ADA Lawsuits Growing Quickly

In 2018, about the time we first started talking about ADA accessibility, Usablenet.com reported there were 2,314 digital related accessibility lawsuits. In 2019 the number was 2,890. In 2020, that number hit 3,503. Right now we are on track to exceed 4,000 by the end of 2...