A visually impaired child poses for a picture in the middle of the fog in the Pacaya Volcano in the Escuintla region
IN PHOTO: A visually impaired child poses for a picture in the middle of the fog in the Pacaya Volcano in the Escuintla region, April 4, 2014. The Meritorious Committee for the Blind and Deaf of Guatemala organized the event for about 150 people with visual and hearing disabilities to climb the volcano and to interact with nature. REUTERS/Jorge Dan Lopez

A visually impaired Australian woman sued Coles for being discriminated on its website. Her lawsuit against the supermarket giant may leave significant guidelines for other websites as well.

Gisele Mesnage is legally blind since the day she was born. She finds online shopping extremely beneficial from the practical point of view as she does not have to "struggle in a physical store." She considers online shopping as an "essential service" as she can do everything in accordance with her own preferences. ABC News quoted Mesnage saying that she could see prices and new products online. She can also put in the trolley exactly what she wants to, she said. However, Mesnage was not allowed to use an essential service by the Coles website.

There are a number of issues on the Coles website, which apparently makes it difficult for Mesnage to operate. She said that the website did not allow her to select the delivery time in 2008. However, the problem is sorted in 2010. She said that she had been able to do her orders unassisted and select the delivery time for the last three and a half years. It was in September 2013 when Coles upgraded its website that made it extremely difficult for the visually impaired woman to complete the order without any assistance. She claimed that certain orders had taken days to be completed.

Mesnage filed a lawsuit against the Coles website so that it would start taking people with disabilities seriously. The same goes for other websites that provide online shopping opportunities, she said. Mesnage said that she had tried negotiating with Coles for years before lodging the formal lawsuit. The website apparently failed to provide any lasting solution to the problems she faced. Mesnage is asking Coles to "fix the website." Mesnage's suggestion for Coles is not to upgrade its website so that people with disabilities find it more convenient for use.

According to Mesnage's lawyer Michelle Cohen, filing the lawsuit against Coles was the "last resort" as her client has been trying to negotiate with the company since 2008 with no success. A 2013 upgrade to its website made it difficult for Mesnage to access the website, she said.

Contact the writer: s.mukhopadhyay@ibtimes.com.au