A lawsuit has been filed alleging that a major online retailer’s website prevents blind and visually impaired individuals from independently accessing goods and services, raising questions about equal access in the digital marketplace. The complaint was brought by Constance Henry on March 10, 2026, in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois against Carved LLC, an Indiana-based company operating the website www.carved.com.
According to court documents, Henry is legally blind and relies on screen-reading software to navigate websites. She claims that Carved LLC’s website contains significant access barriers that make it difficult or impossible for visually impaired customers to browse products or complete transactions without assistance. The suit alleges these barriers violate Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which prohibits discrimination based on disability in places of public accommodation.
The complaint outlines several specific issues encountered by Henry while attempting to purchase a phone case from Carved.com on September 23, 2025. She describes encountering navigation menus that automatically expanded when receiving keyboard focus, ambiguous interactive elements lacking clear labels, dialog boxes that did not shift keyboard focus appropriately, and confirmation messages that were not announced by her screen reader software. As a result of these issues, Henry states she was unable to determine whether items had been added to her cart or proceed through checkout independently.
Henry argues that these design choices force visually impaired users to rely on sighted companions or forgo online shopping altogether—options not required of sighted customers. The complaint asserts: “Defendant excludes the blind and visually-impaired from the full and equal participation in the growing Internet economy.” It further claims that such exclusion violates both federal law and recent guidance from the U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights Division regarding web accessibility under the ADA.
The filing details how modern assistive technologies like screen readers can enable independent internet use for people who are blind or have low vision—but only if websites follow established guidelines such as those published by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). These guidelines recommend practices like providing alternative text for images, ensuring all functions are accessible via keyboard rather than mouse alone, using descriptive headings and labels for interactive elements, and maintaining logical focus order throughout webpages.
Despite these widely available standards and their adoption by other large businesses and government agencies, Henry alleges that Carved LLC “has chosen to rely on an exclusively visual interface” without meaningful accommodations for screen-reader users. She contends this amounts to intentional discrimination against people with disabilities: “Defendant engaged in acts of intentional discrimination… constructed and maintained a website that is inaccessible to visually impaired Class Members with knowledge of the discrimination.”
The lawsuit seeks certification as a nationwide class action representing all legally blind individuals in the United States who have attempted to access Carved.com but were denied full enjoyment of its goods or services due to accessibility barriers during the relevant statutory period. Among other remedies, Henry requests:
– A preliminary and permanent injunction requiring Carved LLC to bring its website into compliance with ADA requirements so it is fully accessible to visually impaired users;
– A declaration that Carved LLC’s current website operations discriminate against people with disabilities;
– Compensatory damages for affected class members;
– An award covering attorneys’ fees and costs;
– Certification of Henry as class representative along with her legal counsel as class counsel.
The complaint also asks for pre- and post-judgment interest as well as any other relief deemed appropriate by the court. The filing emphasizes judicial economy by noting that resolving these issues through a class action could prevent numerous similar lawsuits being filed across the country.
Representing Henry is Alison Chan of Equal Access Law Group PLLC based in Flushing, New York. The case number is 1:26-cv-2667.
Source: 126cv02667_Constance_Henry_v_Carved_Complaint_Northern_District_of_Illinois.pdf
