Website Accessibility in 2025: Lessons from 2024 Lawsuit Trends

The end of 2024 saw a 7% increase in ADA lawsuits against organizations, with a total of 8,800 ADA Title III complaints filed. And these numbers reveal some important trends in digital accessibility compliance. Chief among them: ADA lawsuits are still rising, despite increased focus on accessibility and clear technical specifications. 

With updates to accessibility laws like the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the European Accessibility Act (EAA) taking effect in the next two years, it’s more important than ever for organizations to have a clear plan for digital accessibility compliance.

Below, we’ll examine some of the key ADA website accessibility lawsuit trends in 2024 — and how you can use these insights to help inform your strategy for digital accessibility in 2025 and beyond.

ADA Lawsuit Data: A Look Back at 2024 Trends

Between 2021 and 2023, the number of web accessibility lawsuits decreased, with filings in federal court dropping from a record 6,304 in the first half of 2021 to 4,081 in 2023.

The number of lawsuit filings in the first half of 2024 slightly increased from the previous year, although it was slightly lower than the first half of 2023. However, the issue of ADA website compliance is far from resolved. Lawsuits are highly likely to continue as businesses fail to meet digital accessibility requirements, with Seyfarth Shaw reporting 8,800 lawsuits at the end of 2024, as mentioned above.

What’s striking about these numbers is their concentration. California led the way with 3,252 ADA Title III filings (a 37% increase from 2023). Close behind was New York with 2,220 cases, with Florida, Texas, and Illinois rounding out the top five for ADA lawsuits.

The lawsuits themselves spanned a range of accessibility issues under both Title II and Title III of the ADA, such as:

• Websites excluding people with visual or hearing disabilities, such as poor color contrast, missing image alt text, or compatibility with screen readers and other assistive technology.

• Communication barriers, such as a lack of closed captioning or inaccessible online documents.

Why ADA Lawsuits Increased in 2024 — and What it Means for 2025

Even though accessibility — in both physical locations and online spaces — has come a long way, the rise in lawsuits in 2024 underscores the need for continued focus in 2025 and beyond. Many organizations struggle to meet accessibility standards, and new laws are condensing timelines and strengthening requirements for website content. 

Here’s a closer look at some of the things that could be influencing the rise in ADA lawsuits:

New Standards and Evolving Expectations

A possible reason for the uptick in legal risk in recent years is the introduction of new and updated accessibility standards, many of which organizations are unaware of. For example, recent updates to Title II of the ADA require state and local government programs and services to make their online services and information accessible to individuals with disabilities. Additionally, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act has established the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 Level AA as the accessibility standard for entities receiving federal funding, as determined by the Department of Health and Human Services.

Not only have these changes raised the bar in terms of accessibility, but they’ve also increased the legal exposure for website owners who haven’t updated their websites or systems to comply with new technical standards. 

One industry facing increased legal exposure is healthcare dispensaries. Though exact numbers are difficult to ascertain, plaintiffs nationwide have filed accessibility cases against various dispensaries, citing a lack of accessibility on their web pages. For example, in October 2022, a blind New York City resident filed six ADA lawsuits against cannabis retailers in New York and New Jersey, alleging their websites weren’t accessible to visually impaired users. Another organization faced a class action lawsuit, with plaintiffs citing the same inaccessibility issues for visually impaired users.

As standards continue to evolve (and these organizations are placed under increased focus), it’s critical that businesses take a proactive approach to accessibility and bring their digital content into compliance. 

Increased Enforcement from the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ)

Recently, the U.S. DOJ ramped up enforcement efforts around ADA compliance, issuing new guidance and taking legal action against organizations failing to meet ADA standards. This heightened enforcement makes it clear that compliance is no longer an option in 2025 — it’s a legal requirement. Non-compliance can lead to penalties, monetary fees, demand letters, and even lawsuits, depending on the severity. This is in addition to attorney fees and any costs needed to improve overall performance.

Lack of Awareness Remains an Issue

A lack of awareness about ADA compliance and digital accessibility requirements continues to leave many businesses at risk of legal action in 2025. Small businesses are particularly at risk, with 77% of ADA lawsuits in 2023 targeting companies with under $25 million in revenue.

A checklist with an accessibility symbol at the top of the page, in front of a laptop computer.

How to Reduce Legal Risk in 2025

To avoid becoming a website accessibility lawsuit statistic in 2025, you should take proactive steps to improve your website’s accessibility and functionality and comply with ADA requirements:

1. Understand Your Legal Obligations

As we discussed above, one reason organizations are sued is that they don’t know which compliance requirements they have to follow, which puts them at significant risk. Start by understanding which accessibility standards apply to your organization. 

For example, if your organization operates within the U.S., you must comply with the ADA. However, there may be some additional accessibility requirements you need to meet on a state or international level. The California Unruh Act, for example, applies to all businesses operating within the State of California. Additionally, the EAA applies to U.S. organizations with a European customer base. 

Government and federal agencies also need to comply with additional legal requirements regarding accessibility, including those outlined in Section 508.

2. Aim for WCAG 2.1 — and Plan for WCAG 2.2

As a best practice, aim to conform to the accessibility standards outlined in WCAG 2.1 Level AA. These guidelines are considered the international standard for creating accessible web designs and cover everything from color contrast and keyboard navigation to ensuring images include alt text. WCAG 2.1 can help you significantly lower your legal exposure while making your digital spaces more accessible.

It’s important to call out WCAG 2.2. Though not a legal standard in the U.S., WCAG 2.2 does include nine additional success criteria that reflect evolving industry needs, including improved keyboard focus states, additional considerations for users with cognitive disabilities, and improvements for mobile devices. Staying ahead of these updates can help you adapt to new changes in accessibility requirements while building a more accessible, compliant experience for your users. 

3. Build Accessibility Into Your Processes

Accessibility shouldn’t be an afterthought — it should be part of your content creation process. Embedding accessibility into your design and development workflows helps you ensure your content is accessible from the start, saving you a significant amount of time and effort later on. 

Here are a few accessible design practices you can add to your workflows:

• Use clear, descriptive headings to ensure your content is organized logically.

• Ensure all non-text content, including images, charts, and graphs, has alt text.

• Choose color combinations that have sufficient color contrast ratios. 

• Ensure your interactive elements, such as buttons or menus, have visible focus indicators. 

• Provide captions for videos and transcripts for audio content.

• Ensure all digital content is compatible with assistive technology, including screen readers.

• Build online documents that are accessible.

Following these practices can help you create digital content that meets accessibility standards while improving the overall user experience.

4. Conduct Regular Accessibility Testing

No matter how well you design for accessibility, regular testing is essential to catch issues before they become a problem. Free accessibility testing tools, like AudioEye’s Web Accessibility Checker, can help you find common accessibility issues, enabling you to take proactive steps to fix them.

However, it’s important to note that automated tools can only find common accessibility issues. More complex issues, like how descriptive your alt text is or how user-friendly your site is to screen reader users, are typically missed by automated tools. To ensure these issues don’t slip through the cracks, it’s important to conduct accessibility testing overseen by accessibility experts.

5. Prioritize Accessibility as a Core Value

Accessibility needs to be more than just a checklist — it should be a core part of your organization’s values and processes. Embed accessibility into your organization’s DNA by setting clear, measurable objectives — add it to your mission statement, performance reviews, and project roadmaps — so every team from marketing to IT knows it’s a priority. 

Consider appointing an accessibility champion (or team) to own training, audits, and remediation, and bake accessibility checks into your design and development workflows so features are tested with real assistive-tech users before launch. Track progress with key metrics (e.g., number of issues discovered, time to remediation, customer feedback scores, etc.), celebrate wins publicly, and iterate based on user insights.

By weaving accessibility into your culture, web development processes, and metrics, you turn compliance into a competitive advantage that builds trust, loyalty, and genuine inclusion.

Final Thoughts: Proactive Steps to Minimize Risk

As we look at the second half of 2025 and beyond, the rising number of ADA lawsuits serves as a reminder that accessibility must remain a top priority. By taking proactive steps to address compliance and create more inclusive digital spaces, businesses can reduce legal risk while improving user experiences for everyone.

That’s where AudioEye comes in. AudioEye takes a three-pronged approach to accessibility, combining powerful automation, human-assisted AI technology, and testing during the development process to detect and fix accessibility issues. The result: a streamlined approach to accessibility and at half the cost compared to traditional methods. 

Ready to take the next step towards creating ADA-compliant, accessible digital experiences? Get started with a free accessibility scan or schedule a demo today.