Tenet Healthcare Corporation
A class action on behalf of all blind Americans against a major hospital chain.
In 2016, the American Blind Community filed a class action against Tenet Healthcare Corporation — one of the largest hospital chains in the US — on behalf of all blind Americans. The claim was simple: Tenet's hospital websites were inaccessible to screen reader users across the entire country.
The parties settled shortly after filing. Terms were not disclosed publicly. The case is significant because it shows the size of the class plaintiff firms can assemble — when the violation affects every blind person who might be a patient, that's potentially millions of class members, and the settlement leverage is enormous.
Court
Federal court (specific district not confirmed in public sources)
Case
American Blind Community v. Tenet Healthcare Corporation
Not confirmed in public sources
Outcome
settled
What went wrong on the site
Each visual below shows what visitors with disabilities actually experienced.
<div onClick="buy()">
<div>Buy now</div>
</div>
Custom controls had no ARIA roles, so screen readers could not announce what they were or what state they were in.
WCAG 4.1.2 Name, Role, Value
Sources & documentation
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Accounting
American Institute of Certified Public Accountants
DOJ forced the AICPA and NASBA — the accounting profession's own gatekeepers — to make the Uniform CPA Exam accessible to blind candidates, paying $15,000+ in damages and integrating JAWS and ZoomText across the entire exam platform.