Text color #999 on white background has only ~2.8:1 contrast ratio. WCAG requires minimum 4.5:1.
WCAG 1.4.3 5 Violation #5All focus outlines removed with `outline: none`. Keyboard users cannot see which element is focused.
WCAG 2.4.7 6 Violation #6Heading hierarchy skips from h1 to h4. Screen readers use heading levels for page structure navigation.
WCAG 1.3.1 9 Violation #9Font sizes use fixed px values. Users who zoom or change browser font settings cannot resize text.
WCAG 1.4.4 10 Violation #10Status indicators use color only. Color-blind users cannot distinguish between states.
WCAG 1.4.1 Your Website Is Breaking the Law — And You Probably Don't Know It
94.8% of the top 1 million websites fail accessibility standards. If yours is one of them, you're not just excluding users with disabilities — you're a lawsuit waiting to happen.
The Numbers Are Staggering
The WebAIM Million 2025 report found an average of 51 accessibility errors per page across the top 1 million websites. Users with disabilities encounter a barrier roughly every 24 elements.
Since 2018, over 25,000 lawsuits have been filed targeting inaccessible websites. And the pace is accelerating:
| Year | Lawsuits | Trend |
|---|---|---|
| 2017 | 814 | — |
| 2018 | 2,258 | +177% |
| 2022 | 3,255 | Steady growth |
| 2023 | ~4,605 | Federal + state |
| 2024 | ~4,187 | Shift to state courts |
| 2025 (projected) | ~5,000 | +20% surge |
This isn't a niche legal issue. It's a systemic problem affecting every industry.
The Cost of Non-Compliance
ADA violations carry real financial consequences:
- First violation: up to $115,231 (adjusted for inflation, 2024)
- Subsequent violations: up to $230,464
- Typical settlements: $5,000–$75,000 + attorney fees + remediation costs
- California Unruh Act: $4,000 per violation minimum
Notable cases: MedStar Health received a $440,000 judgment. Overlay company accessiBe was fined $1 million by the FTC for false compliance claims.
Small Businesses Are the Primary Target
Think ADA lawsuits only target large corporations? Think again.
- 77% of lawsuits target eCommerce websites
- 67% target companies with revenue under $25M
- 1 in 4 lawsuits in 2024 were repeat lawsuits against previously sued companies
- Top jurisdictions: New York, Florida, California
Small businesses are often the easiest targets — they lack legal resources and are more likely to settle quickly.
Accessibility Overlays Don't Protect You
If you've installed an accessibility widget hoping it would make your site compliant, you may actually be making things worse.
25% of 2024 lawsuits explicitly cited accessibility widgets as barriers, not solutions. Courts have consistently ruled that overlays do not constitute genuine WCAG compliance.
The FTC fined accessiBe $1 million for deceptive marketing — claiming their widget made sites ADA-compliant when it didn't.
Overlays attempt to patch symptoms without addressing the underlying code. Screen readers often conflict with overlay modifications, creating new barriers instead of removing old ones.
AI Is Accelerating the Lawsuit Wave
Artificial intelligence is lowering the barrier to filing ADA lawsuits:
- 40% of federal ADA filings are now pro se (self-represented)
- Plaintiffs use AI tools to draft legal complaints and identify WCAG violations automatically
- Serial filers can now process significantly more targets with AI assistance
The combination of automated violation detection and AI-assisted legal filing means the volume of lawsuits will continue growing.
This Is a Global Trend
ADA compliance isn't just a US concern. Every major market is enforcing accessibility laws with real penalties:
| Region | Law | Penalty | Deadline |
|---|---|---|---|
| US | ADA Title II/III | $115K–$230K per violation | April 2026 / 2027 |
| EU | European Accessibility Act (EAA) | Up to €500K (DE), 4% revenue (FR), criminal (IE) | June 2025 (in effect) |
| Canada | AODA + Accessible Canada Act | $250K/day (federal), $100K (Ontario) | In effect |
| Japan | Act on Eliminating Discrimination (JIS X 8341-3) | Administrative orders, public naming | April 2024 (amended) |
Whether you operate in one jurisdiction or several — accessibility compliance is becoming a legal requirement, not a best practice.
The Solution: Genuine WCAG Compliance
The only reliable protection against ADA lawsuits is genuine compliance with Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 Level AA — the standard referenced by the DOJ's 2024 Final Rule.
This means:
- Perceivable: Alt text, sufficient contrast, resizable text, captions
- Operable: Keyboard navigation, skip links, no seizure-inducing content
- Understandable: Clear language, predictable navigation, error guidance
- Robust: Valid HTML, ARIA attributes, compatibility with assistive tech
A Practical Approach: The ADA Compliance Skill
Instead of guessing what to check, you can use a structured approach. The ada-compliance skill for Claude Code provides a comprehensive WCAG audit framework with 44 criteria, organized by the POUR principles.
Install in 3 steps:
Step 1. Clone the skills marketplace:
git clone https://github.com/anthropics/claude-skills-marketplace.git
Step 2. Copy the skill to your Claude skills directory:
cp -r claude-skills-marketplace/skills/enterprise/ada-compliance ~/.claude/skills/
Step 3. Start Claude Code in your project — the skill activates automatically when you ask about accessibility:
claude "Audit this site for ADA compliance"
The skill checks your code against all 44 WCAG 2.1 AA criteria plus 6 WCAG 2.2 additions, generates findings by severity (critical/major/minor), and provides specific code fixes.
Operating outside the US?
The skills marketplace includes jurisdiction-specific skills:
| Skill | Jurisdiction | Standard |
|---|---|---|
ada-compliance |
US | ADA, WCAG 2.1 AA |
eaa-compliance |
EU | EAA, EN 301 549 |
aoda-compliance |
Canada | AODA, ACA |
jis-accessibility |
Japan | JIS X 8341-3 |
global-accessibility |
Multi-jurisdiction | Determines which laws apply to your organization |
Use global-accessibility if you're unsure which laws apply — it routes to the correct jurisdiction based on your organization's location and market.
All skills work outside Claude Code too — as Project Knowledge in Claude.ai, as a system prompt in any LLM, or simply as a structured checklist for manual audits.
Don't Wait for the Lawsuit
The data is clear:
- 94.8% of sites fail accessibility
- 25,000+ lawsuits and counting
- 67% of targets are small businesses
- Overlays make it worse, not better
- AI is making lawsuits easier to file
- Global regulations are tightening
The question isn't whether your site has accessibility issues — statistically, it does. The question is whether you'll fix them proactively or wait for a demand letter.
Sources: WebAIM Million 2025, Accessibility.Works, AudioEye, Seyfarth Shaw ADA Title III, Level Access