Disability law attorney J. Colin Knisely examines how online retailers can make their sites accessible to disabled consumers.

The Internet provides quick, easy access to goods and services. However, for people with disabilities, Internet access is not always so simple. Many websites are not designed in a manner that allows for easy navigation—or sometimes any navigation—by the visually impaired. Likewise, a website may contain videos without captions, making them difficult or impossible for a hearing-impaired person to understand. A person who does not have full use of her hands may require speech recognition software to navigate a website. In fact, it has been estimated that as many as one out of every five people have website accessibility issues that require some sort of assistive technology.

For many companies, the issue of website access has never been a concern, either because they have not had any claims related to web access, or because there are currently no specific Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) accessibility guidelines. But a rash of recent lawsuits and demand letters alleging that certain websites are inaccessible to disabled consumers have grabbed the attention of businesses around the country. Foot Locker Retail Inc., Toys R Us Inc. and Brooks Brothers Group Inc. have all been sued, and presumably many more e-retailers have received demand letters.

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