How to Avoid an ADA Website Lawsuit: 7 Proven Steps

ADA web accessibility lawsuits have exceeded 4,000 per year in federal courts alone, with thousands more demand letters sent that never result in filed cases. The average settlement ranges from $5,000 to $150,000, and legal defense costs can add tens of thousands more. The good news: these lawsuits are largely preventable. Organizations that take proactive, documented steps toward accessibility dramatically reduce their legal exposure. Here are seven proven steps to protect your business.

Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Consult a qualified attorney for guidance specific to your situation.

Run Regular Automated Accessibility Scans

Automated accessibility scanning is the fastest and most cost-effective way to identify the low-hanging fruit of web accessibility: missing alt text, insufficient color contrast, empty links, missing form labels, improper heading hierarchy, and other issues that automated tools can reliably detect. Research shows that automated tools catch approximately 30 to 40 percent of WCAG violations — and these tend to be the most common and easily documented violations that plaintiffs use as evidence in lawsuits.

How to do it: Start with a free scan using CompliaScan's WCAG checker or ADA compliance checker. Review the results, which categorize issues by severity and WCAG criterion. For ongoing protection, set up scheduled scans through a CompliaScan monitoring plan so you are alerted to new issues as soon as they appear. Run scans at least monthly, and after every significant code deployment.

Automated scanning also creates a documented audit trail. If you are ever challenged, you can show a history of regular scans, identified issues, and remediation activity — powerful evidence of good faith.

Conduct Manual Accessibility Testing

Automated tools cannot catch everything. The remaining 60 to 70 percent of accessibility issues require human judgment to identify. Manual testing fills the gaps that automation misses and provides the most complete picture of your site's accessibility posture.

How to do it: Start with keyboard-only navigation. Tab through your entire site without using a mouse: can you reach every interactive element? Can you see where the focus is at all times? Can you operate menus, forms, modals, and carousels? Next, test with a screen reader (NVDA on Windows is free, VoiceOver on macOS is built in). Listen to how your content is announced and check for logical reading order, meaningful link text, and proper announcement of dynamic content.

Use our WCAG compliance checklist to systematically work through each success criterion. Focus your manual testing on your highest-traffic pages and critical user journeys: homepage, navigation, search, product pages, checkout, contact forms, and account management. Schedule manual testing at least quarterly, and whenever major design changes are deployed.

Publish an Accessibility Statement

An accessibility statement is a public page on your website that communicates your commitment to accessibility. While not legally required in all jurisdictions, it is one of the most important steps you can take to demonstrate good faith and provide users with a way to report barriers.

How to do it: Create a dedicated page (typically at /accessibility or /accessibility-statement) that includes: the accessibility standard you target (e.g., WCAG 2.2 Level AA), a summary of what you have done to meet that standard, known limitations you are working to resolve, a clear process for users to report accessibility barriers, and contact information (email, phone, or form) for accessibility-related requests.

Link to this page from your footer so it is discoverable from every page on your site. The W3C provides an Accessibility Statement Generator that can help you create a compliant statement. Review and update your statement at least annually or whenever significant changes occur.

An accessibility statement serves multiple purposes: it gives users a feedback channel (reducing the likelihood they go directly to a lawyer), it demonstrates your commitment to accessibility to regulators and courts, and it forces you to articulate your compliance goals and known gaps.

Create a VPAT / Accessibility Conformance Report

A Voluntary Product Accessibility Template (VPAT) is a standardized document that details how your product or service conforms to accessibility standards. The completed document is called an Accessibility Conformance Report (ACR). While VPATs originated in the U.S. government procurement process under Section 508, they have become widely used in the private sector as well.

How to do it: Use the VPAT 2.5 template (available from the IT Industry Council) and systematically document your conformance status for each applicable WCAG 2.2 success criterion. For each criterion, note whether you “Support,” “Partially Support,” or “Do Not Support” it, along with remarks explaining your status and any planned remediation.

Having a current VPAT demonstrates maturity and intentionality in your accessibility program. It is particularly valuable for B2B companies, as government agencies and large enterprises increasingly require VPATs during procurement. It also provides detailed documentation that can support your defense if challenged.

Set Up Continuous Monitoring

Websites are not static. Every new feature, content update, design change, or third-party widget addition can introduce new accessibility barriers. A site that was compliant last month may not be compliant today. Continuous monitoring ensures you catch regressions before they become lawsuit material.

How to do it: Set up automated scheduled scans that run weekly or after each deployment. Configure alerts to notify your team when new issues are detected. Integrate accessibility checks into your CI/CD pipeline so that issues are flagged before they reach production. Track your accessibility score over time and set internal targets for improvement.

CompliaScan's monitoring plans include scheduled scans, email alerts, historical trend tracking, and detailed reporting. The documentation produced by continuous monitoring creates an ongoing audit trail that demonstrates your commitment to maintaining accessibility over time — a powerful defense against claims that you have been negligent.

Maintain a Documented Remediation Plan

Perfection is not the legal standard — good faith effort and continuous progress are. Courts have consistently looked favorably on organizations that can demonstrate they are aware of accessibility issues and are actively working to fix them. A documented remediation plan is your evidence of this effort.

How to do it: After each scan or audit, create a prioritized list of issues to fix. For each issue, document what it is, which WCAG criterion it violates, its severity (critical, major, minor), who is responsible for fixing it, and the target completion date. Track your progress and keep records of what was fixed and when.

Prioritize remediation based on user impact: issues that block users from completing essential tasks (navigation, forms, checkout, account access) come first. Cosmetic or low-impact issues come later. This approach ensures your effort is directed where it matters most and demonstrates a reasonable, systematic approach to compliance.

Your remediation plan does not need to be elaborate — a spreadsheet or project management board will do. What matters is that it exists, is maintained, and shows a pattern of ongoing activity.

Build Organizational Awareness and Process

The strongest legal shield is an organization that treats accessibility as a core value, not a one-time project. Embedding accessibility into your organizational processes makes compliance sustainable and dramatically reduces the chance that new barriers are introduced.

How to do it: Train your team — designers, developers, content creators, and project managers — on accessibility fundamentals. Include accessibility requirements in design specifications and acceptance criteria. Add accessibility checks to your QA process. Designate an accessibility owner or champion within your organization who is responsible for tracking compliance status.

Make accessibility part of your vendor evaluation process. When you purchase third-party tools, widgets, or content management systems, ask vendors for their VPAT or accessibility conformance report. Include accessibility requirements in contracts. You are responsible for the accessibility of your entire website, including third-party components.

Consider joining industry accessibility groups or working with accessibility consultants for periodic guidance. The investment in organizational knowledge pays dividends in reduced legal risk, better user experience, and more inclusive products.

What to Do If You Receive a Demand Letter

If you receive an ADA demand letter or lawsuit notice despite your best efforts, do not panic. Here is how to respond:

Contact an attorney immediately. Find a lawyer experienced in ADA web accessibility cases. Do not ignore the letter or attempt to negotiate without legal counsel.
Gather your documentation. Your scan history, remediation plan, accessibility statement, VPAT, and any other evidence of good-faith accessibility efforts will be critical to your defense.
Do not make public statements. Let your legal counsel handle all communication with the plaintiff or their attorney.
Accelerate remediation. Begin fixing the specific issues cited in the demand letter. Document everything you fix and when.

Organizations with documented accessibility programs and evidence of ongoing effort are in a much stronger negotiating position. Many demand letters are resolved for significantly less — or withdrawn entirely — when the defendant can demonstrate genuine, ongoing compliance efforts.

Take the First Step: Scan Your Website Now

An automated accessibility scan is the fastest way to identify your risk. Enter your URL to get an instant report with prioritized issues and remediation guidance.