A visually-impaired individual has taken legal action against a major apparel company, claiming its website is inaccessible to blind users. On February 6, 2026, Geovanni Bahena Figueroa filed a class-action complaint in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois against Wacoal America, Inc., alleging violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
Figueroa, who is legally blind and relies on screen-reading software to navigate online content, accuses Wacoal America of failing to design and maintain its website in a manner that allows independent use by visually impaired individuals. According to the complaint, this failure constitutes discrimination under the ADA as it denies Figueroa and others like him full access to goods and services offered on Wacoal’s website. The lawsuit highlights that approximately 8.1 million people in the U.S. are visually impaired, including 2 million who are blind, underscoring the broader impact of such accessibility barriers.
The plaintiff recounts his experience attempting to purchase muscle support compression apparel from Wacoal’s website on October 6, 2025. He encountered numerous obstacles due to the site’s incompatibility with screen-reading technology. These included missing alt-text for images, broken links, and navigation elements requiring mouse interaction—features inaccessible via keyboard commands used by screen readers. The complaint argues that these barriers prevent blind users from enjoying an equivalent shopping experience as sighted individuals.
Figueroa seeks a permanent injunction mandating Wacoal America to overhaul its web practices to comply with Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 standards. He requests that Wacoal engage a consultant to train employees on accessibility compliance and regularly test the site’s usability for blind consumers. Additionally, he calls for declaratory relief affirming that Wacoal’s current web operations violate ADA provisions by discriminating against disabled individuals.
The case also aims to certify a nationwide class comprising all legally blind individuals who have faced similar access issues with Wacoal’s website during the statutory period. By doing so, Figueroa hopes not only for personal redress but also systemic change benefiting all visually impaired consumers.
Representing Figueroa is attorney Yaakov Saks from Stein Saks PLLC based in Hackensack, New Jersey. The case has been assigned Case No.: 1:26-cv-1381 in front of judges at the Northern District of Illinois court.
Source: 126cv01381_Geovanni_Bahena_v_Wacoal_America_Complaint_Northern_District_of_Illinois.pdf