Protect Your Business from ADA Accessibility Claims and Lawsuits

Summary: Learn how to protect your business from ADA accessibility legal issues in this article.

More than 50 million Americans (18% of our population) have disabilities. With the help of modern medicine and technology, they are living more independently and, as a consequence, patronizing businesses more frequently. As this trend continues, it is all the more important for a business owner to accommodate this class of people. The benefits are two-fold: firstly, it is an opportunity for that business owner to expand his or her customer base; and secondly, to avoid costly ADA litigation.


Providing adequate accommodations for disabled persons can be very difficult due to the complex and ever changing ADA laws. In 2010, the Federal Government enacted a new set of construction and remodeling standards which replaced the former 1991 Standards. Although enacted in 2010, the 2010 ADA Standards for Accessible Design just became effective on March 15, 2012.

Under the 2010 Standards, businesses are required to provide an accommodation when it is "readily achievable" to do so. The ADA defines "readily achievable" as easily accomplishable and able to be carried out without much difficulty or expense. There is no measuring stick or objective test to determine whether an accommodation is "readily achievable". Instead, it requires legal analysis and is determined on a case-by-case basis.

When the former 1991 Standards were enacted, courts leniently interpreted "readily achievable" and often permitted business owners to provide improved accommodations for disabled persons rather than incur the expense of strictly complying with the published standards. In recent years, courts have been strictly interpreting "readily achievable", thereby requiring business owners to prove that it is not financially possible to strictly comply with the 2010 standards. As a result, business owners have incurred substantial expenses litigating, paying fines, and correcting existing ADA violations.

In order to avoid such expenses that often exceed $100,000, many business owners retain an attorney with expertise in the area to inspect their business premises for ADA violations. An attorney with experience in this area of law can identify all potential violations and provide a business owner with a legal assessment of the risk/liability associated with each violation. Additionally, any report generated by an attorney would be confidential as an attorney-client communication and attorney work-product. Consequently, the attorney's findings and legal opinions regarding violations too costly to correct would be protected from disclosure in the event of future litigation.

With an understanding of potential liability under ADA law, a business owner can make an informed decision whether to correct a violation, budget to make corrections over time, or not make any corrections at all. In many cases, business owners are finding that making minor alterations is an inexpensive way to avoid costly litigation. The old adage holds true, "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure".