Access 2018’s ADA Web Accessibility Lawsuit Recap Report here.

Below is a full text description of the infographic to help all users:

Tile 1:

Throughout 2018, the UsableNet research team has been monitoring all major web accessibility-related Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) lawsuits. Here are the highlights.

 

Tile 2:

ADA web accessibility-related lawsuits exploded with a 181% increase in 2018 over 2017.

In 2017, there were 814 cases. In 2018, we tracked 2285 lawsuits filed.

 

Tile 3:

Where are these lawsuits filed?

ADA web accessibility-related lawsuits were recorded in every state but two stand out the most: New York and Florida.

A graphic communicates that in Florida, 726 lawsuits were filed in 2018 resulting in an average of 61 lawsuits filed per month. Out of all 2018 lawsuits, Florida was responsible for 32%.

In New York alone, 1471 lawsuits were filed with an average of 123 lawsuits filed per month. New York was accountable for 64% of all 2018 lawsuits.

The remaining 4% of lawsuits came from other states such as Texas, Massachusetts, California, Georgia and Pennsylvania.

 

Tile 4:

Where are these affected companies headquartered?

The companies sued in these jurisdictions are distributed across the US.
From a sample group, here is a list of the top 10 states where companies are headquartered portrayed through a map graphic:

  1. New York – 25% of cases

  2. California – 10% of cases

  3. Florida – 7% of cases

  4. Texas – 6% of cases

  5. Pennsylvania – 4% of cases

  6. Ohio – 4% of cases

  7. New Jersey – 3% of cases

  8. Massachusetts – 3% of cases

  9. Georgia – 2% of cases

  10. Connecticut – 2% of cases

Additionally, 11% companies sued were headquartered internationally in countries including Italy, France, Japan and Brazil.

 

Tile 5:

Industry Accessibility

The industries that received the biggest focus in web accessibility litigation include retail, food service, travel/hospitality, banking/financial, entertainment and leisure and self-service

A Deeper Look at Industries
Through a pie chart graphic, we illustrate the breakdown of web accessibility-related lawsuits broken down by industry. Here is that list in descending order.

  1. Retail – 38%

  2. Food Service Industry – 11%

  3. Travel/Hospitality – 10%

  4. Banking/Financial – 7%

  5. Other – 7%

  6. Entertainment & Leisure – 7%

  7. Self-Service – 4%

  8. Education – 3%

  9. Healthcare – 3%

  10. Real Estate Agencies & Properties – 3%

  11. Fitness & Wellness – 2%

  12. Digital Media & Agencies – 2%

  13. Insurance – 1%

  14. Automotive – 1%

  15. Telecommunications – <1%

  16. Fuel Industry – <1%

 

Tile 6:

The Legal Fight

Over 600 law firms are engaged in either supporting plaintiffs or defending companies that were sued.
Defendant lawyers will defend you but companies should be accessible. The following 10 lawyers defend 32% of all lawsuits.

  1. Jackson Lewis P.C.

  2. Seyfarth Shaw LLP

  3. Morgan, Lewis, Bockius LLP

  4. Epstein, Becker & Green P.C.

  5. Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart, P.C.

  6. Littler Mendelson, P.C.

  7. Lewis, Brisbois, Bisgaard & Smith LLP

  8. Dentons U.S. LLP

  9. Greenberg Traurig LLP

  10. Wilson, Elser, Moskowitz, Edelman & Dicker LLP

Plaintiff lawyers will sue you if you do not provide a website that is accessible. The following 10 lawyers filed 82% of all lawsuits.

  1. Cohen & Mizrahi LLP

  2. Lipsky Lowe, LLP

  3. The Leal Firm, P.A.

  4. Shaked Law Group, P.C.

  5. Lee Litigation Group, PLLC

  6. Gottlieb & Associates

  7. Shalom Law Group, PLLC

  8. Scott R. Dinin, P.A.

  9. Garcia-Menocal & Perez, P.L.

  10. The Marks Law Firm, P.C.

A visual of a justice scale represents the percentages that each group defends.

Closing Tile:

Making your site accessible is the right thing to do, plus it decreases your risk of a lawsuit. Be proactive. Be prepared.

Sources/Notes:
*Data was collected up through December 20, 2018.
**Headquarters were taken from a sample of 448 cases.

 

View our blog post on the 2018 ADA Web Accessibility Lawsuit Recap Report here.

 

We appreciate your interest in digital accessibility and hope you find this useful.

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