Well, there is also some discussion of liability issues for
architects who design non-ada compliant sites. Check this out:
http://hansonbridgett.com/newsletters/ConstructionAlert/
CAlert080801.html
the last paragraph is key:
While designers are not directly liable under lawsuits for the
failure to design or construct in accordance with the ADA, this does
not mean that the designer will escape all liability for designs that
do not comply with the Act's requirements. It is very likely that any
owner or operator sued for a project designed out of compliance will
probably assert a negligence claim against the designer. But such a
claim will concern standard of care issues, rather than the civil
rights claims involved in an ADA suit.
While I am not sure how this would apply to web designers vs.
architects, but I certainly could see like in the case of Target,
that if the web designer was an outside firm they could be included
in the suit. At some point, a designer of an inaccessible website is
going to get sued (its just a matter of time IMHO) and I certainly
don't want to be that test case.
--
Kevin Murphy
Webmaster: Information and Marketing Services
Western Nevada College
www.wnc.edu
775-445-3326
P.S. Please note that my e-mail and website address have changed from
wncc.edu to wnc.edu.
On Oct 8, 2007, at 7:30 AM, Ben Buchanan wrote:
My thought exactly. If you were an architect, would you ask a
shopping
centre client: "do you want wheelchair access?"
The difference in that scenario is that the client would generally not
expect the architect to skip the ramps and lower their fees since
"it's only a few people" (although I've no doubt it does happen at
times).
Building codes/laws currently have a higher level of respect than web
accessibility legislation. Web accessibilty laws haven't been heavily
enforced in most countries, hence the need for cases like Target - to
make the laws into reality.
--
--- <http://weblog.200ok.com.au/>
--- The future has arrived; it's just not
--- evenly distributed. - William Gibson
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