ADA Consulting

  • We are a firm of lawyers with disabilities working to insure equality for people with disabilities.
  • We consult on a wide variety of disability issues including practical legal advice on physical and web accessibility.
  • We also provide sensitivity training on disability issues and assist in efforts to advocate for people with disabilities.
  • We have extensive experience in the transportation industry on compliance with Department of Transportation regulations.
  • We have extensive experience with wayfinding technologies and the standards for such practices. Mr. Shaffer was a drafter of the Consumer Technology Association of Interactive Based Audio Network Navigation Systems (IANNBS) standard 2076 and 2076.1 for those with IDD disabilities.
    https://shop.cta.tech/collections/standards/products/inclusive-audio-based-network-navigation-systems-for-all-persons-including-those-who-are-blind-low-vision
  • Please contact us if you would like more information about our ADA Consulting Services.

Articles

  • ADA-based cases kept pace with 2021 despite key rulings in circuit courts. With as many as 100 lawsuits filed per week, cases will again total more than 4,000 in 2022.
  • Over 600 lawsuits in 2022 were against companies that have received a previous ADA Digital Lawsuit.
  • The DOJ restated guidance in March 2022, but it failed to give businesses clarity. The guidance seems to have encouraged a rise in filings.
  • E-Commerce websites are cited the most in digital accessibility lawsuits. Companies with physical locations are high on the target list.
  • Filings are rising against companies with less than 50 million annual revenue. This trend reflects the need for plaintiff firms to find and file claims in volume.
  • Almost 20% of the top 500 e-commerce websites received a lawsuit in 2022. Over the last five years, almost 80% of the top 500 e-commerce websites received a lawsuit.
  • The top 10 plaintiff law firms account for 75% of all federally filed cases; in contrast, the top ten defense law firms represent 19% of federal cases.
  • The majority of plaintiffs and firms are focused on testing and filing against websites. There are a few plaintiff firms that have focused more on mobile apps and video, particularly in California
  • Businesses using accessibility widgets received 575 lawsuits, a 36% increase from 2021.

The World Wide Web is one of the most significant technological developments of the modern age, becoming an essential part to an individual’s everyday life and necessary to all businesses—small, medium, and large. Unfortunately, of the over 350 million websites in the United States, alone, only around 2 percent are accessible for users with disabilities. In the United States, people with disabilities make up about 20 percent of the total population—leaving 1 in 5 individuals blocked from the full potential of the internet…

You likely already know that certain standards of accessibility for people with various disabilities are required in most physical buildings. This is why ramps are available as alternatives to staircases for people in wheelchairs, why there is reserved accessible parking in most parking lots, and why specific standards are put in place to ensure that wheelchair-accessible restrooms are, in fact, accessible. However, there are similar accessibility standards that apply to the internet, that can be just as helpful for people with disabilities. While they are incredible useful, they are not as universal as physical accessibility standards…

Accessibility on the internet is just as important as accessibility in physical spaces. Individuals with disabilities need to enter online spaces just as frequently as physical spaces, and inaccessible websites can lock the disability community out of everything from online banking and shopping to social media and job applications. Online accessibility has become increasingly important in light of the COVID-19 pandemic; with many schools and jobs having moved online, the disability community often found itself at the mercy of inconsistently enforced standards. However, recent advances in Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology could be the key to making online accessibility easier and more universal than ever.

Traditionally, the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) has been used to prevent discrimination against the disabled community in employment and to ensure accessibility in mainly physical locations – hospitals, schools, gymnasiums, etc – run by both private businesses and state and local governments. These lawsuits still happen all the time, and remain invaluable tools to ensure that the wider world is accessible for people with disabilities of all kinds, from visual impairments to spinal cord injuries. However, in recent years there has been a rise in ADA lawsuits aimed at making websites accessible…