TL;DR: You get a demand letter. Then a lawsuit. Then you pay $20K-$100K+ in settlements and legal fees. Then 2-3 years of court-mandated monitoring. Or you fix it now for $2K-$8K and avoid all of that.

Let's be direct: most businesses with non-compliant websites don't find out they have a problem until they receive a legal demand letter.

And by then, your options get expensive fast.

Here's What Actually Happens (Timeline)

Stage 1: The Demand Letter

One day, you get a letter from a law firm claiming your website violates the ADA. They'll list specific violations (missing alt text, poor color contrast, inaccessible forms) and demand you fix them - or face a lawsuit.

What it says:

You're violating federal law
A disabled person tried to use your site and couldn't
Fix it within 30-60 days or they'll sue
Often includes a settlement demand ($5,000-$15,000)

Your immediate thought: "Is this real or a scam?"

The answer: Probably real. These letters come from actual law firms doing actual legal work.

Stage 2: The Lawsuit (If You Ignore Stage 1)

If you ignore the demand letter or refuse to settle, they file a federal lawsuit.

What this means:

Public court records (your business is now associated with disability discrimination)
You need to hire a lawyer ($300-$500/hour)
Discovery process (expensive and time-consuming)
Stress, distraction, and reputational damage

Cost at this stage:

Legal fees: $20,000-$50,000 minimum
Settlement: $10,000-$75,000+
Time lost: Hundreds of hours dealing with lawyers and court proceedings

Stage 3: The Settlement (Most Cases End Here)

Very few accessibility lawsuits go to trial. Most settle.

Typical settlement includes:

Cash payment to plaintiff: $5,000-$75,000
Attorney fees (theirs): $10,000-$30,000
Agreement to fix all violations
Court-mandated monitoring for 2-3 years
Regular reports proving ongoing compliance

The monitoring is particularly annoying: You pay an accessibility consultant $5,000-$10,000/year to audit your site and file reports with the court. For years.

Stage 4: Fixing It Anyway (After Spending $50K+)

Here's the kicker: after all that money, time, and stress, you still have to fix the accessibility issues.

The settlement doesn't let you off the hook - it requires you to make your site compliant. So you end up paying for remediation anyway, plus all the legal costs you could have avoided.

What Happens to Your Business Reputation?

Beyond the financial costs:

Public record: Court documents are public. Anyone can Google your business name and see you were sued for disability discrimination.

Online reviews: Unhappy plaintiffs and their advocates sometimes leave negative reviews mentioning accessibility problems.

Customer perception: Some customers care about accessibility and inclusion. Being sued signals you don't.

Industry reputation: If you're in a regulated industry (healthcare, legal, finance), accessibility violations can affect your professional standing.

What Happens If You Just... Don't Have a Website?

Some businesses think: "I'll just take down my website until this blows over."

Bad idea.

Courts see this as retaliation and bad faith. It doesn't make the lawsuit go away - it makes you look worse. Plus, you're now losing whatever business your website generated.

What Happens If You Install an "Accessibility Overlay"?

Accessibility overlay plugins promise automatic compliance with one line of code.

What actually happens: You still get sued, and the court doesn't care that you installed an overlay. Why? Because overlays don't actually fix the underlying code problems - they just slap a band-aid on them.

Many lawsuits specifically mention that the business had an overlay installed and was still inaccessible.

What You Should Do Instead

Here's what happens if you're proactive instead of reactive:

Option A: Fix it before you get a letter

Cost: $2,000-$8,000
Time: 5-10 business days
Stress level: Minimal
Outcome: Compliant site, no lawsuit risk

Option B: Fix it after getting a letter

Cost: $2,000-$8,000 (remediation) + possible settlement
Time: 2-4 weeks
Stress level: High
Outcome: Compliant site, avoid court

Option C: Ignore it and get sued

Cost: $30,000-$125,000+
Time: 6-18 months of legal proceedings
Stress level: Extreme
Outcome: Compliant site (eventually), massive financial loss, public record of lawsuit

The math is pretty straightforward.

The Bottom Line

What happens if you're not ADA compliant?

Eventually, someone notices. And when they do, it gets expensive fast.

You can fix it proactively for a few thousand dollars, or reactively for tens of thousands. Your choice.

But ignoring it isn't actually a choice - it's just delaying the inevitable while making it more expensive.

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What Happens If You Are Not ADA Compliant?