Accessibility Testing and Legal Risk: What Compliance Teams Need to Watch For

A few years ago, digital accessibility was something only a few organizations prioritized. But times have changed. Today, accessibility is a legal requirement. And as awareness has grown, so has the number of accessibility lawsuits filed against businesses whose websites, mobile apps, or digital tools fall short of compliance.

Behind many of these lawsuits is a common thread: something was missed during testing. Whether it’s a button that a screen reader can’t interpret or a form that can’t be completed using keyboard commands, small issues can become huge legal risks for businesses. 

That’s where accessibility testing comes in. When done right, it not only helps you stay compliant with standards like the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) and Section 508 — it also ensures a more usable experience for all your users.

So, what should you (or your QA and compliance teams) pay attention to during accessibility testing to ensure you’re meeting compliance standards? Below, we’ll cover the top things to look for during the testing process and common pitfalls to avoid.

Why Accessibility Testing is Critical for Legal Risk Mitigation

Accessibility lawsuits are increasing — and becoming more sophisticated. Last year, more than 8,000 ADA Title III lawsuits were filed against businesses claiming a lack of accessibility, with thousands more resolved through demand letters and private settlements. These numbers reflect only the reported cases — many businesses are settling quietly, often at huge costs, to avoid further exposure. 

Disability advocates and legal professionals are focusing increasingly on well-established laws like the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act, which outline accessibility requirements in their own spaces. But international standards are also raising the stakes. The European Accessibility Act (EAA), for example, sets broad accessibility requirements for companies operating in the EU, with a deadline for compliance just recently passing. 

The increasing urgency has created a new wave of scrutiny — not just from users, but from regulators, procurement teams, and plaintiff law firms. That’s why it’s critical to test key user flows that align with business functions and legal exposure: checkout paths, lead generation forms, login portals, online documents, and account creation processes. Testing these flows for accessibility issues is the only way to keep your legal risk low.

Beyond the legal consequences, inaccessible digital experiences can damage customer trust and your brand reputation. Users who encounter accessibility barriers are not likely to return — especially if they rely on assistive technologies to navigate online spaces. 

The bottom line: Failing to prioritize accessibility and proactively removing barriers risks more than just compliance issues — you risk falling behind in customer loyalty and public perception.

A stylized web browser is shown with error symbols.

What Compliance Teams Should Look for During Accessibility Testing

Given the legal and reputational risk of non-compliance, regular accessibility testing is essential — especially for QA and compliance teams. It’s the most effective way to identify and address barriers before they result in costly lawsuits or customer complaints.

Here’s the catch: accessibility testing has to be done right to truly reduce risk. That means focusing on the areas that matter most — both from a legal and user perspective. Below, we’ll break down the key things your team should prioritize during accessibility testing to stay compliant and protect your business.

High-Risk User Flows

Accessibility testing should start with your high-risk user flows. These include eCommerce checkout processes, form submission flows, login and account management, mobile experiences, PDFs and downloadable content, and service or product enrollment. QA and compliance teams should carefully examine each of these workflows to ensure they’re free of accessibility barriers. 

For example, go through your checkout process using only keyboard commands or assistive technology. Are you able to complete every step without issue? Any issues you run into should be fixed and re-tested before they impact your users.

Keyboard Navigation and Focus Management

Keyboard navigation and focus management are foundational to accessibility — especially for users who rely on a keyboard or assistive technology to navigate online spaces. During testing, teams should ensure that interactive elements (e.g., buttons, videos, forms, etc.) can be accessed using the ‘Tab’ key in a logical order. Additionally, visible focus indicators should be present, and skip links should be available to bypass repetitive content. 

Color Contrast

Poor color contrast is one of the most common accessibility issues — and a frequent trigger for lawsuits. It affects millions of people with visual disabilities, including those with low vision or color blindness. When contrast ratios are too low, users may struggle to distinguish text from background elements, making content unreadable.

To avoid this, testers should regularly check contrast ratios to ensure they meet WCAG requirements, at least 4.5:1 for normal text and 7:1 for large text. Color contrast tools — like this one from AudioEye — can help you strike the right balance and improve readability for users with visual disabilities.

Assistive Technology Compatibility

Over one billion people worldwide rely on assistive technology to navigate online spaces. A lack of compatibility with these devices, including screen readers, screen magnifiers, voice-to-text software, and braille displays, is another common trigger for accessibility lawsuits. Because these devices rely on well-structured, standards-compliant code to function properly, teams should pay careful attention to compatibility with assistive technology. 

To ensure good compatibility, teams should ensure form fields are correctly labeled, semantic HTML is used, and ARIA roles are added where appropriate. Testers should also pay attention to critical areas, like error messages, form validation feedback, and dynamic content updates — especially in live regions — to ensure assistive technology users receive timely and accurate information. 

Document and PDF Accessibility

Online documents, such as PDFs, Microsoft Word documents, PowerPoint presentations, and spreadsheets, are commonly overlooked in accessibility testing, making them a frequent source of litigation. This is especially true for government agencies and educational institutions, where downloadable content is widely used. 

Under WCAG and other accessibility laws, all online documents must be accessible to individuals with disabilities. Testers should evaluate these files with the same scrutiny as web content. Key things to check include: the use of proper heading structure, descriptive link text, alt text for images, and sufficient color contrast. Documents should also be navigable by keyboard, readable by screen readers, and follow best practices for tagging and reading order — especially for PDFs.

Video and Audio Content

Video and audio content are frequently used across web pages, but when they’re not accessible, they create significant barriers for people with disabilities. Under both the ADA and the 21st Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act (CVAA), content creators are required to ensure that video and audio content can be understood by all. 

During the testing process, testers should ensure videos include accurate captions, and transcripts or audio descriptions for audio content. This ensures that those who are deaf, hard of hearing, blind, or have low vision can interact with and understand content.

Error Handling and Feedback

Numerous accessibility laws, including the ADA, Section 508, and WCAG, require clear, descriptive error messages. When forms or interactive components return vague or nonexistent feedback, users — especially those relying on screen readers or other assistive technologies — can’t understand what went wrong or how to fix it. 

To meet accessibility requirements, testers should ensure error messages are descriptive, programmatically associated with the corresponding form fields, and announced clearly to assistive technology. Additionally, webpages or mobile apps should offer users clear guidance on correcting mistakes and resubmitting forms successfully. Testing these flows ensures all users can complete key actions without confusion or frustration.

Common Testing Pitfalls that Increase Legal Risk

Even with the best intentions behind accessibility testing, you may fall short in some areas. Knowing what those missteps are can help you reduce your chances of non-compliance and legal exposure. Here are some of the most common pitfalls to pay attention to avoid:

• Relying on automation alone: Automated tools are a great starting point for accessibility, catching common issues like missing alt text or insufficient color contrast. But they can only detect a portion of accessibility barriers. Critical barriers like poor keyboard navigation, inaccessible form validation, or screen reader conflicts can only be identified with expert audits. Using both automated and manual testing can help you detect and fix more accessibility issues.

• Not testing real user journeys: Testing individual components in isolation is not enough. Legal risk increases when testers overlook the end-to-end experience users rely on — like completing a purchase, submitting a job application, or accessing a service portal. As mentioned above, testers should pay careful attention to the most important workflows to minimize legal risk and ensure an accessible user experience.

• Ignoring mobile apps: What many organizations forget is that accessibility requirements also apply to mobile apps. This leaves major gaps in your user experience, especially as users rely on mobile apps for services like banking, shopping, healthcare, etc. Be sure to regularly test your mobile apps to maintain compliance across all your digital content.

• Forgetting about non-web assets: As mentioned above, downloadable documents are often overlooked during accessibility testing — but they’re subject to the same accessibility standards as web content. Regularly resting and remediating non-web content should be a key part of your accessibility testing. 

Stylized web browser with a checklist on the right-hand side and a raised gavel over a stack of books on the left-hand side.

How to Align Accessibility Testing with Legal Risk Management

To build a stronger, more defensible compliance posture, it’s critical that QA and legal teams are involved early in the process. When these teams work in sync, organizations are often better equipped to identify risks, document their efforts, and respond confidently if legal challenges arise. 

Below are some ways you can align your broader legal risk management strategy:

• Engage legal counsel early: Involve your legal teams at the beginning of the testing process. Ask what they need to see in accessibility testing results — this might include specific documentation, issue tracking, or remediation timelines. Incorporating their input upfront helps align your testing practices with legal expectations.

• Maintain testing documentation: Keep detailed records throughout your accessibility testing process. Document what was tested, how it was tested, and what issues were found and resolved. This documentation is essential not only for tracking progress but also for defending your organization in the event of a lawsuit.

• Leverage third-party audits: Consider supplementing your internal testing with accessibility audits conducted by external experts. A third-party review can help uncover high-risk issues you may have missed and add a layer of credibility and validation that can be especially helpful in legal or procurement contexts.

• Train your teams: Accessibility is a shared responsibility. Provide regular accessibility training for QA, development, and compliance teams to ensure everyone understands accessibility standards, testing tools, and their role. Cross-functional alignment helps embed accessibility into your workflows from the start — and reduces the chance of costly oversight later.

Minimize Legal Risk, Maximize Compliance with AudioEye

As digital accessibility becomes a core compliance issue, you can no longer afford to treat it as a secondary priority. Proactive accessibility testing is your first — and best — line of defense against costly lawsuits, demand letters, and reputational damage. But only if it’s done thoroughly. 

Start by auditing your most critical user flows. Then, build accessibility into your DevOps pipeline to prevent issues before they reach production. Establish ongoing testing and monitoring cycles to stay compliant as your site evolves. 

To help take your compliance strategy further, there’s AudioEye. Our multi-pronged approach to accessibility combines powerful automation, human-assisted AI technology, and testing during the development process to give you more than just testing tools. We give you confidence — peace of mind knowing your digital content is 400% more protected and supported by the most comprehensive accessibility solution available. 

Ready to see where you stand? Get started with a free accessibility scan, or contact us to learn how AudioEye can help you build a defensible, scalable accessibility strategy.