Every barrier that blocks a patient is also a legal exposure.
A patient who cannot use your website is a lost booking — and, under the ADA, a possible claim. Fix the patient problem and the legal one shrinks with it. Here is what the claims actually look like, without the scare tactics.
Does an eyecare practice website have to be ADA compliant?
In practice, yes. Courts apply the ADA to the websites of businesses open to the public, and there is no small-practice exemption. Since the start of 2025, 7,961 website accessibility lawsuits have been filed, and 64% hit businesses making under $25 million a year. Building to the accessibility standard lowers your risk of a claim. Nothing removes it.
Get My Free Audit- 7,961 website accessibility lawsuits filed since the start of 2025
- 64% of these cases hit businesses making under $25 million a year
- A demand letter usually settles for $3,000 to $25,000
- Nobody inspects you. It starts when one person complains — usually with no warning
website accessibility lawsuits filed since the start of 2025 — 4,928 last year, the rest already in 2026
UsableNet ADA Lawsuit Trackerof these cases hit businesses making under $25 million a year
UsableNet / Inclusive Web 2026jump in lawsuits filed by people with no lawyer, using AI tools
Seyfarth Shaw 2026what a claim costs, depending on how far it goes — see below
Two different numbers, both realThese cases used to be a New York and California problem. Not anymore — Illinois, Florida, Pennsylvania and Minnesota all jumped. Nearly half the businesses sued in 2025 had been sued before, which tells you a one-time fix does not hold. Healthcare is one of the fastest-growing targets.
Why you’ll see two very different cost numbers
Most of these never become lawsuits. That is why the smaller number is the one you are likely to face.
Almost all of these claims start and end as a letter. Businesses pay because fighting it costs more than settling. In these cases the lawyer collects fees rather than damages, so the letter is priced just under what defending yourself would cost. These settlements are never counted — no court record, nothing public.
Industry-reported demand-letter settlement range, 2025–26The smaller share that actually reach court. That number covers the other side's legal fees, your own lawyer, and fixing the website — which you had to do anyway. Notice that last part. You come out the other end with the same website you started with, still needing the same work.
WCAGsafe 2025–26We show both numbers because quoting only the big one would sell better and be less honest. The likely cost is the number on the left. And none of that money buys you a fixed website.
They came to you for their sight.
Every problem an accessibility scan finds is a wall that a patient with low vision runs into. On the website of the practice they trusted with their eyes. A restaurant with an unusable website is careless. An eyecare practice with one is something worse.
And the honest version of the legal part: most of these claims land on stores, not doctors. It probably will not be you. But there is no exemption for small practices — and unlikely is not the same as safe.
It takes one complaint. Often with no warning.
The Justice Department sued Barnet Dulaney Perkins Eye Centers and American Vision Partners over how they treated patients with mobility disabilities. It ended with a $1 million settlement and a court-approved agreement to fix things. That case was about the clinic, not the website — which is the point. The ADA reaches eyecare practices, and the government enforces it. Your website is simply the part of your practice a stranger can inspect from a laptop, at scale, without ever walking in. Nobody warns you first.
More on this page’s topic
How much does an ADA website claim cost a practice?
Can a small independent practice really be sued over its website?
What triggers an ADA website complaint?
What should I do first if I'm worried about this?
Start with the free audit. It shows the same barriers a scanner would flag, ranked by what actually blocks patients — so you fix the patient problem and shrink the legal one with the same work.
Does fixing my website guarantee I won't be sued?
No, and be wary of anyone who says otherwise. Anyone can file a complaint. Building to WCAG 2.2 AA and re-checking monthly lowers the risk and leaves you with documented, dated evidence of the work — which is what matters if a claim ever lands.
Find out where you stand before someone else does.
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