TL;DR: Yes. Thousands of businesses get sued every year for inaccessible websites. Courts consistently rule that websites must be accessible under the ADA. The question isn't "can you get sued?" - it's "when will someone notice your violations?"

If you're Googling this question at midnight, you're probably worried. And honestly? It's not unwarranted.

Yes, you can absolutely get sued if your website is not ADA compliant.

Here's what that actually means for your business.

The Legal Reality

Since 2017, federal courts have consistently ruled that websites are "places of public accommodation" under the Americans with Disabilities Act. That means websites must be accessible to people with disabilities, just like physical buildings need ramps and elevators.

The numbers:

Over 4,000 federal accessibility lawsuits filed in 2023
Settlements typically range from $5,000 to $75,000
Legal fees add another $20,000-$50,000
Many cases include 2-3 years of court-mandated monitoring

This isn't theoretical. Real businesses - restaurants, medical practices, e-commerce sites, hotels - face these lawsuits every week.

Who Gets Sued?

The uncomfortable truth: anyone with a website can get sued.

You don't have to be a Fortune 500 company. Small businesses with 5 employees and $500K in revenue get sued just as often as major corporations.

Common targets:

Restaurants (online ordering and menus)
Medical practices (patient portals and appointment booking)
E-commerce sites (shopping carts and checkout)
Hotels (reservation systems)
Real estate (property search tools)
Any business with an online form or transaction

Why? Because plaintiffs' attorneys use automated scanners to find violations. If your site shows up with accessibility issues, you might receive a demand letter.

What Triggers a Lawsuit?

You're at higher risk if your website has:

Images without alt text
Videos without captions
Forms that don't work with keyboards
Poor color contrast (unreadable text)
Unlabeled buttons and links
Inaccessible shopping carts or checkout flows
Patient portals that screen readers can't navigate

The more public-facing and transactional your site, the higher your risk.

"But I Didn't Know This Was a Law"

Doesn't matter. Courts don't care if you didn't know.

The ADA has been law since 1990. Courts have been applying it to websites since 2017. "I didn't know" isn't a legal defense - it's just an expensive lesson.

What You Should Do Right Now

1. Find out what's actually wrong

Run an accessibility scan of your website. See what violations exist. Most sites have 15-50 fixable issues.

2. Don't ignore it and hope for the best

That's the most expensive option. Ignoring accessibility issues doesn't make them go away - it just makes the eventual lawsuit more expensive.

3. Get it fixed professionally

Most accessibility violations can be fixed in 5-10 business days by someone who knows what they're doing. Cost: usually $2,000-$8,000 depending on site size.

Compare that to:

Settlement: $5,000-$75,000
Legal fees: $20,000-$50,000
Monitoring: $5,000-$10,000/year for 2-3 years
Reputation damage: Priceless

The Bottom Line

Can you get sued? Yes.

Will you get sued? Maybe. Depends on your industry, your site's visibility, and honestly, some luck.

Should you wait to find out? Absolutely not.

The cost of fixing accessibility issues is a fraction of the cost of defending a lawsuit. And unlike a lawsuit, fixing your site actually makes it better for all your customers.

Don't wait for a demand letter to take this seriously.

Scan your website now

Can I Get Sued If My Website Is Not ADA Compliant?