Blog | UsableNet

2025 Midyear Accessibility Lawsuit Report: Key Legal Trends

Written by Jason Taylor, Chief Innovation Strategist | Jul 9, 2025 3:00:00 PM

The numbers are in: digital accessibility lawsuits are on track to surge nearly 20% in 2025, with over 2,000 cases already filed in the first half of the year.

UsableNet’s Midyear ADA Lawsuit Report offers the most detailed view into this growing legal risk. Now in its sixth year, the report is built from the ground up by manually reviewing digital accessibility lawsuits in the U.S. to identify those involving websites, mobile apps, digital video, or physical spaces.

Get your copy of the 2025 Midyear report here. 

In this blog, we break down the key trends from the 2025 report to help legal teams, digital leaders, and accessibility decision-makers prepare for what’s ahead.

A Ground-Level View of Every Case

What sets this effort apart is our case-by-case monitoring across federal and state courts. We track digital accessibility lawsuits in all 11 federal circuit courts, as well as filings in key state courts, especially in New York and California, where plaintiffs often favor local legislation. 

This level of granularity enables us to identify trends, spot shifts in legal strategy, and deliver the most actionable data on the evolving legal landscape. 

A Sharp Increase in 2025

At the halfway point of 2025, plaintiffs have filed 2,019 digital accessibility lawsuits. If this pace continues, the U.S. is expected to see over 4,975 lawsuits by year-end—a 20% increase from 2024.

You can review the 2024 Year-End Report here for a complete comparison.

Why the rise?

Several forces are at play:

  • Reduced federal enforcement has traditionally triggered more aggressive private litigation, and this year follows that familiar trend.

  • Legal uncertainty may be encouraging plaintiff firms to file now, anticipating potential future changes in state or federal laws.

  • And perhaps most significantly, the shift to state courts — particularly in New York— state courts may offer advantages: more courts, more judges, and often more plaintiff-friendly interpretations of accessibility obligations. State systems also reduce the issue of judicial fatigue, which has arisen in federal courts where the same plaintiffs repeatedly appear before the same judges.

Lawsuit Trends by State

New York remains the most active state for digital ADA filings, especially at the state level. 

Meanwhile, Florida has seen a resurgence in federally filed digital accessibility lawsuits against e-commerce companies. The trend in Florida aligns with the Winn-Dixie decision, in which the Eleventh Circuit ruled that general websites are not covered under the ADA. Still, e-commerce websites could be, due to their functional equivalence to physical stores. It appears that plaintiff firms are focusing on digital retail sites as valid ADA targets, particularly in Florida, where the number of federal filings in May (170) indicates renewed momentum.

 

New Plaintiff Firms Entering the Scene

Behind the rising case volume is a shifting landscape of plaintiff law firms. While a few key firms, such as Mizrahi Kroub LLP and Gottlieb & Associates, continue to lead the charge, we are seeing new firms, many with backgrounds in physical ADA compliance (e.g., wheelchair access lawsuits), joining the mix.

These firms already work with clients alleging discrimination and see digital cases as a natural extension of their ADA work. As awareness and opportunity grow, we expect even more of these firms to shift their attention to online accessibility claims.

Industries Targeted

As in previous years, e-commerce remains the top target, accounting for 69% of all digital accessibility lawsuits so far in 2025. 

But there are clear secondary targets too:

  • Food services (18%),
  • Healthcare (4%),
  • and Fitness & Wellness (3%).

These industries are attractive for several reasons:

  1. Volume – These industries account for a significant portion of the consumer-facing web.
  2. Legal Alignment – Many of these industries are specifically mentioned in the original ADA as places of public accommodation, making it easier for plaintiffs to argue that their digital counterparts (e.g., online ordering, appointment booking) should also be accessible.
  3. Physical-Digital Link – In some jurisdictions, plaintiffs must establish a “nexus” between the website and a physical location. Industries like retail and food services often promote “buy online, pick up in store” or “find a location”, strengthening this connection.

Want a closer look at why food service sites are a frequent target? This blog shares first-hand insight from a blind screen reader user navigating restaurant reservations.

Lawsuits Targeting Larger Companies

In the first half of 2025, 36% of lawsuits targeted companies with annual revenues exceeding $25 million, up from 33% in the first half of 2024.

Why are larger companies more vulnerable?

  • They’re more likely to settle quickly.
  • They often have in-house legal teams familiar with ADA claims, making them easier to engage.
  • They can absorb higher legal costs, giving plaintiffs more leverage during settlement negotiations.

At the same time, some states are introducing safe harbor provisions for small businesses, which may reduce their legal exposure and shift the focus to larger organizations.

Accessibility Widgets Still Under Fire

Despite their widespread use, accessibility widgets continue to offer no legal protection to the companies that use them. Plaintiffs filed lawsuits against companies using widgets every month in the first half of 2025, including 132 in February alone.

Lawsuits against companies using widgets often cite the fact that overlays fail to address the actual code-level accessibility issues that users with assistive tech experience.

For screen reader users, particularly those who are blind, widgets can introduce new barriers, such as conflicting keyboard commands or confusing control panels. Though marketed as simple solutions, these tools often frustrate users and draw legal scrutiny.

For a deeper dive, check out our guest post: “Why Widgets Are Not Best for Digital Accessibility.” Written by our frequent guest contributor, who is a blind screen reader user, it explains how widgets can create new barriers instead of removing them, offering real-life insight into why they often hinder more than help 

Final Thoughts

So far in 2025, the trends are clear:

  • Lawsuits are rising
  • State courts are gaining influence
  • Plaintiffs are focusing on e-commerce and larger companies

For companies of all sizes, actual accessibility improvements, not shortcuts, are the only reliable way to reduce risk and deliver inclusive digital experiences.

To dive deeper into these trends—and what they mean for your accessibility program—join us live on July 23 for our next webinar.

I'll be joined by Seyfarth Shaw Partner,  John Egan. Together, we'll unpack the legal and practical takeaways from the 2025 mid-year data. Reserve your spot for the webinar: Accessibility in 2025: Lawsuits, Compliance & Digital Accessibility