100 points to know about...
Digital accessibility

So far, we have seen that making your website accessible is not only the ethical and socially responsible thing to do. In addition, adapting web design to users with disabilities can also provide you with significant market opportunities.
If those arguments don't sound convincing enough, let's refer back to the points made in the grain that discussed the legal obligation of designing for web accessibility.

When it comes to compliance with web accessibility standards, this matter has been legally supported in the United States, Europe and within the UN. Due to the constantly growing regulation and awareness of the importance of web accessibility, we can now see an increase in demands for not complying with accessibility laws. Organisations can face the consequences of non-compliance, such as paying high legal costs and having their reputation negatively impacted.

In the United States alone, more than 3500 web accessibility lawsuits were filed in 2020 and 2021. Some of them featured popular brands like Nike, Amazon, Burger King, and Domino's Pizza:

• The Nike Website ADA Class Action Lawsuit is Mendizabal v. Nike Inc., Case No. 1:17-cv-09498, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.
• The Amazon.com Inaccessibility Class Action Lawsuit is Cedric Bishop v. Amazon.com Inc., Case No. 1:18-cv-00973, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.
• The Burger King ADA Class Action Lawsuit is Maria Mendizabal v. Burger King Corp., Case No 1:18-cv-00324, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.
• Supreme Court hands victory to blind man who sued Domino's over site accessibility.

Most web accessibility lawsuit cases end with a settlement agreement between the two parties, except the last example.

Domino's Pizza Case

Guillermo Robles sued Domino’s Pizza in 2019 over violations of ADA Title III. According to the complaint, he could not order food from Domino’s website and app despite using screen-reading software. Robles won the case, setting a powerful example for businesses.

Vueling Case (famous Spanish airline company):

The Ministry of Social Rights and the 2030 Agenda has fined the airline Vueling 90,000 euros for maintaining a website inaccessible to people with certain disabilities. The resolution, signed by the Secretary of State, Nacho Álvarez, confirms that the Spanish company fails to comply with 26 of the 38 indicators required by law. It also cited that this was a serious infraction and would be penalised as such because the company was already the subject of an inspection and sanction in 2015.

We can conclude, that digital accessibility is not an option anymore but an obligation that is part of our reality.
Investing in the accessibility of your digital project from the very beginning will save you from losing money through penalties caused by non-compliance.