If Your Websites Are Not Accessible to People with Disabilities, You Can Be Sued!
With ADA Website Accessibility Lawsuits up 174% from 314 lawsuits filed in 2017 to 2,235 lawsuits filed in 2019, if your website is not accessible, you are vulnerable to legal claims with the financial burden of attorney fees, often from both sides, court costs and legal settlements.
In January 2020, a class-action lawsuit was filed in New York federal court Guglielmo v. Charlotte’s Web, Inc., a maker of cannabidiol (“CBD”) oils claiming that its website is not accessible to the visually impaired.
According to the complaint, plaintiff Joseph Guglielmo, who is visually impaired, visited Charlotte’s Web’s website several times in December 2019, where he was unable to navigate their website with his screen-reader due to the website not being designed properly and in violation of the ADA and the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C).
Mr. Guglielmo seeks a court order requiring the Charlotte’s Web, Inc. to remediate its website to conform to the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), and regularly monitor the site’s current state of accessibility.
The Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) requires that businesses and organizations that offer goods and/or services to the public make sure that these services are equally enjoyed by those with disabilities. In most jurisdictions, this law has been interpreted to apply to web-based and electronic content as well, requiring that websites be easily accessible for people with disabilities.
A certified professional in website accessibility and compliance is important to determine whether a website is accessible to individuals with disabilities.
For more information on how to make your Website Accessibility and Compliance, contact ADA WebGuard at 833-232-9321 for your FREE Website Assessment.
