HCA Holdings
159 hospital websites. Zero of them accessible. One lawsuit.
HCA Holdings (now HCA Healthcare) operates over 150 hospitals across the US. In 2017, a single blind plaintiff sued the company for the simple reason that all 159 hospital websites lacked alt text and keyboard navigation — meaning blind patients across the entire HCA network couldn't use any of them.
The case settled (terms private). It's a cautionary tale for any business operating multiple sites on a shared platform: a single template flaw becomes 150 separate violations the moment a plaintiff cares to file. Consistency cuts both ways.
Court
U.S. Federal District Court (specific district not confirmed in public sources)
Case
Frazier v. HCA Holdings, Inc.
Not confirmed in public sources
Outcome
active
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
Screen reader announces:
"Image. Image. Image."
Product images and key visuals had no alt text — screen readers announced 'image' or the file name instead of describing what users were looking at.
WCAG 1.1.1 Non-text Content
Click only — Tab key does nothing
Core interactions required a mouse. Keyboard-only users could not navigate menus, complete checkout, or operate widgets.
WCAG 2.1.1 Keyboard
Sources & documentation
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