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Lawsuit Prevention Guide
How predatory ADA website lawsuits work — and the practical steps that protect your dental practice before a demand letter ever arrives.
6 min read
Lawsuits are the secondary risk
For most practices, the bigger driver is the Section 504 deadline tied to your Medicaid and Medicare funding — see our Section 504 & funding guide. The good news: the fixes that satisfy that rule are the same ones that shut down the lawsuits below.
The threat is real and growing
A cottage industry of law firms files thousands of ADA website lawsuits every year. They use automated tools to scan large numbers of small-business sites, flag accessibility violations, and send demand letters seeking a quick settlement. Dental practices are a frequent target: visible in the community, reliant on their website for new patients, and rarely staffed to fight back.
- 4,600+ ADA web lawsuits filed in 2025
- $25K–$75K typical settlement per claim
- 96% of dental sites have issues
How a typical lawsuit unfolds
1
Automated scan
A firm’s tool crawls your site and flags WCAG violations — no human ever visits your office.
2
Demand letter
You receive a letter alleging your site is inaccessible and offering to settle for a few thousand dollars to avoid litigation.
3
The pressure to settle
Fighting costs more in legal fees than settling, so most practices pay — even when the claims are thin.
4
Repeat exposure
Settling doesn’t fix your site, so the same violations leave you open to the next firm that scans you.
Settling is not protection
Paying a settlement makes one letter go away but leaves the underlying violations in place. The only durable protection is an accessible website — which removes the basis for the claim in the first place.
Your prevention playbook
You can dramatically reduce your risk with four practical steps. None of them require you to become an accessibility expert.
Know your exposure before they do
Plaintiffs run automated scanners to find targets. Run the same kind of scan yourself first, so you find and fix the issues before a demand letter does.
Fix the high-risk issues first
Missing alt text, low contrast, and unlabeled forms are the most-cited violations. Resolving these closes the door on the easiest claims.
Publish an accessibility statement
A clear statement with a contact method demonstrates good-faith effort and gives visitors a way to report barriers directly to you — instead of to a lawyer.
Monitor continuously
A site that passes today can regress tomorrow when staff add a new page or photo. Ongoing monitoring catches new issues before they become liabilities.
Already received a demand letter?
Don’t ignore it, and don’t rush to settle before understanding your site. Run a scan to see the actual issues, then reach out — we can help you remediate quickly and document your good-faith remediation effort.
Common questions
- Can a dental practice be sued over an inaccessible website?
- Yes. A cottage industry of law firms files thousands of ADA website claims each year, using automated scanners to find violations on small-business sites and sending demand letters seeking a settlement. Dental practices are a frequent target.
- How much does an ADA website lawsuit typically cost to settle?
- Settlements commonly land in the $25,000 to $75,000 range per claim, and fighting one usually costs more in legal fees than settling — which is precisely why the model works.
- Does settling protect my practice from future claims?
- No. A settlement makes one letter go away but leaves the underlying violations in place, so the same issues remain visible to the next firm that scans your site. The only durable protection is fixing the site.
- What should I do if I already received a demand letter?
- Do not ignore it, and do not rush to settle before understanding your site. Run a scan to see the actual issues, then remediate quickly and document the good-faith effort.