University of North Carolina Health Care System
Blind patients at a major hospital system couldn't read their own bills.
UNC Health Care is North Carolina's largest hospital system. Blind patients couldn't access medical records, billing statements, or appointment information — these were posted as scanned PDFs and inaccessible online forms. The National Federation of the Blind and Disability Rights NC sued in 2022.
The case settled for $125,000 in damages to affected patients. In 2023, a federal court issued an injunction requiring UNC Health to make all patient-facing digital communications accessible. Hospitals everywhere are now on notice: "we sent the PDF" doesn't satisfy the ADA if blind patients can't read it.
Settlement
$125,000 in damages to affected patients
Court
Middle District of North Carolina
Case
Bone et al. v. University of North Carolina Health Care System
1:18-cv-00994
Outcome
settled
What went wrong on the site
Each visual below shows what visitors with disabilities actually experienced.
medical-records-2024.pdf
Scanned image, no text layer
Screen reader announces: "Document, 12 pages."
Critical documents — bills, statements, records — were posted as scanned PDFs that screen readers could not parse.
WCAG 1.1.1 Non-text Content
Sources & documentation
- Disability Rights North Carolina — Blind Patients Receive Settlement from UNC Health Care System (July 2022)Primary
- CourtListener — Bone v. University of North Carolina Health Care System, 1:18-cv-00994Primary
- Civil Rights Litigation Clearinghouse — Bone v. UNC Health Care System, 1:18-cv-00994Primary
- FindLaw — Bone v. University of North Carolina Health Care System (2023)Primary
- WSOC TV — UNC Health Care System set to pay $125K in damages
- NC Newsline — Blind patients partial settlement announcement
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