Mass lawsuits in dental and medical sectors

ADA Compliance for
Healthcare Websites

Medical practices, dental, mental health, and telehealth providers are high-value targets for ADA lawsuits. ADA, Section 1557, and HIPAA all apply — and none of them replace the others.

Audit my healthcare site — $499

Why healthcare is high-risk

Dental practices have been sued in waves by a small number of plaintiff firms filing dozens of near-identical complaints in a single week. Small medical practices — often without a dedicated web or legal team — have been similarly targeted. The economics are brutal: a one-dentist office with a five-page website has the same legal exposure as a regional hospital, but far fewer resources to respond.

Beyond ADA Title III, healthcare entities face additional obligations. Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act prohibits disability discrimination in any health program or activity receiving federal financial assistance. The May 2024 HHS final rule formally adopted WCAG 2.1 Level AA as the technical standard for covered entities' websites. If you take Medicare, Medicaid, or any federal health grant, Section 1557 likely covers you.

Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act adds another overlapping obligation for federally funded programs. In short: most healthcare websites fall under multiple statutes, and all of them point to the same technical baseline — WCAG 2.1 AA.

Healthcare-specific risk areas

Appointment booking flows

Scheduling widgets often rely on custom calendars with keyboard and screen reader issues. Time slots rendered as non-semantic buttons frequently fail WCAG 4.1.2.

Patient portals

Third-party portals (MyChart, Athena, Kareo) vary widely in accessibility. The covered entity — your practice — remains responsible for providing an accessible patient experience.

Online intake forms

Long multi-step intake forms commonly fail label association, error identification (3.3.1), and timeout management. Paper-equivalent alternatives must also be accessible.

PDF patient documents

Consent forms, new-patient paperwork, and post-visit instructions published as untagged PDFs fail WCAG. Screen readers cannot parse image-only PDFs.

Telehealth video platforms

Live video consultations need captions (WCAG 1.2.4) or an alternative. Pre-recorded telehealth introductions need captions and transcripts.

Find-a-doctor / find-a-clinic

Map-based provider search tools often lack accessible alternatives. List-based versions with keyboard navigation are required.

Medication information

Low-contrast text on dosage, side effects, and warnings is both a WCAG failure and a patient safety concern.

HIPAA + ADA intersection

Security and accessibility are separate obligations. HIPAA technical safeguards (encryption, access controls) do not substitute for WCAG conformance, and vice versa.

Frequently asked questions

Why are healthcare websites high-risk for ADA lawsuits?
Healthcare sites combine every high-risk factor: they serve the public (ADA Title III applies), they use complex interactive forms (appointment booking, intake), they publish content consumed by older and disabled populations, and they often rely on third-party plugins and portals that were not designed with accessibility in mind. Plaintiff firms have filed mass lawsuits against healthcare providers — particularly dental and small medical practices — because these sites frequently fail automated WCAG scans.
Does HIPAA cover accessibility?
No. HIPAA protects the privacy and security of patient health information. It does not address accessibility. The ADA (Title III for private practices, Section 504 for federally funded providers, and Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act) governs accessibility for healthcare websites. You must meet HIPAA and ADA/Section 1557 independently; compliance with one does not imply compliance with the other.
What about Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act?
Section 1557 prohibits discrimination based on disability in health programs and activities receiving federal financial assistance (which includes most hospitals, clinics, and Medicare/Medicaid providers). The May 2024 final rule explicitly adopted WCAG 2.1 Level AA as the technical standard for covered entities' websites and mobile apps. If you accept federal health funding, Section 1557 likely applies to you — and the technical standard is the same WCAG 2.1 AA baseline that Scrutia tests.
My patient portal is provided by a third party. Am I still liable?
Typically, yes. A covered healthcare entity cannot outsource its accessibility obligations. If your patient portal, appointment scheduler, or telehealth platform is inaccessible, you remain responsible for providing accessible alternatives or procuring a conformant product. Most contracts with EMR and portal vendors now include accessibility warranties — check yours, and consider requesting a VPAT.
What are the most common findings on healthcare websites?
Appointment booking flows with unlabeled form fields; PDF patient intake forms that are not tagged; low color contrast on medication or dosage information; inaccessible maps and 'find a doctor' tools; video content (telehealth introductions) without captions; and third-party review widgets embedded on practice pages. A full WCAG 2.1 AA audit surfaces all of these.

Related resources

Protect your practice.

Scrutia audits your site against the same WCAG 2.1 AA baseline used by Section 1557 and ADA Title III.

Audit my healthcare site — $499

Scrutia provides technical accessibility audits. This is not legal advice. For ADA, Section 1557, or HIPAA legal matters, consult an attorney.