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Meeting these guidelines does not mean you have a valid claim. It means a participating law firm is likely to review it. That firm decides on its own whether to take your case. Some claims are turned down, and some recover nothing. Direct2Attorney cannot judge the legal merits of your case, give legal advice, or file anything for you.
Hardly anybody does. It is written in your operative report and the surgery center’s implant log, and a firm can pull those records for you. Not knowing is not a reason to skip the review.
— Educational
Arthritis at the base of the big toe wears away the cartilage until bone grinds on bone. It hurts to push off, to walk uphill, to wear ordinary shoes. For a long time the standard fix was fusion — joining the two bones so the joint cannot move at all. It reliably stops the pain, but the joint is gone for good.
The Cartiva Synthetic Cartilage Implant was sold as the alternative. Approved by the FDA in 2016, it is a small hydrogel plug, about the size of a pencil eraser, pressed into the end of the bone to act like cartilage. The promise was pain relief without giving up the joint. That promise is exactly why most patients chose it.
Lawsuits allege the device did not hold up. The central claim is subsidence — the plug sinking down into the bone. When it sinks, the joint loses its cushion and height, and the pain and stiffness come back. Other claims involve the implant loosening, shifting out of place, or breaking apart.
The lawsuits allege that Cartiva, Wright Medical and Stryker knew failure rates were far higher than what doctors and patients were told, and kept selling the device anyway.
In October 2024 Stryker recalled the Cartiva Synthetic Cartilage Implant. The FDA posted a Class II recall in December 2024.
— Compensation
If a claim succeeds, compensation is meant to cover what the failed implant has cost you — in money, in work, and in how you move through your day. Here is what these claims typically seek.
No one can tell you what your claim is worth before reviewing your records, and no one can promise you will recover anything at all. There is no settlement in this litigation — no fund, no payment schedule, and no court-approved amounts. Any figure you see quoted online for Cartiva claims is speculation. Any service that quotes you a guaranteed dollar figure is telling you something it cannot know. Past results do not guarantee or predict a similar outcome in any future case. Attorney fees, case costs, and medical liens are taken out of any recovery.
— The process
You do not need to know the brand of your implant or have your records in hand. You just need to answer a few questions and let the people who do this every day take it from there.
Fill out the short form or call. You tell us roughly when the implant went in, what went wrong, and whether you have had another surgery. It takes about two minutes. There is no cost and no obligation.
If your situation fits, we connect you with a participating law firm. That firm looks at your case on its own and decides whether to represent you. If it does, you sign an agreement directly with the firm.
You sign a records authorization. The firm pulls your operative report and the surgery center’s implant log to confirm the brand, gathers your imaging and treatment records, and files your claim.
Your case moves through MDL 3172 alongside the others. Your firm keeps you updated as the court sets its schedule. You are never required to accept an offer you do not want.
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We connect you with firms handling medical device claims — ones already filing into MDL 3172 and following the court’s early schedule.
What Direct2Attorney is
A legal marketing and referral service. We check whether your situation matches what participating law firms are looking for, and connect you with one of them if it does.
What Direct2Attorney is not
We are not a law firm. We cannot give you legal advice, represent you, or file anything on your behalf. Only a law firm you sign with can do that.
If you had a toe implant between 2016 and 2024 and the pain came back, the implant sank, or you ended up having the fusion you were trying to avoid, find out where you stand. You do not need to know the brand — that is in your records. It takes about two minutes, it costs nothing, and your state’s filing deadline is running whether or not you look into it.
Participating law firms are generally reviewing claims from people who had a Cartiva Synthetic Cartilage Implant placed in the big toe between 2016 and 2024 and then had ongoing or returning pain, imaging showing the implant sank or moved, or surgery to remove, replace or fuse the joint. You do not need to have had revision surgery already to have your claim looked at.
Most patients do not know the brand of what was put in their foot, and that is normal. The device name is recorded in your operative report and in the implant log at the surgical center or hospital. Your surgeon’s office can also tell you. You can request those records yourself, and a participating law firm can request them for you once you sign an authorization.
Yes. In October 2024 Stryker recalled the Cartiva Synthetic Cartilage Implant, and the FDA posted a Class II recall in December 2024 covering all models and sizes distributed from July 2016 through October 2024. The recall cited a higher than expected rate of revision, removal, the implant sinking into the bone, displacement, pain, nerve damage and fragmentation.
Subsidence is the word for the implant sinking down into the bone of the big toe joint. It is the most common complaint reported by Cartiva patients. When it happens the joint loses height and cushioning, which can bring back the pain and stiffness the surgery was meant to fix, and it often leads to another operation.
No. Having a revision or a fusion generally makes a claim stronger because it documents the failure, but people who still have the implant and are living with pain, stiffness or imaging that shows a problem can still have their situation reviewed. Talk to your surgeon about your symptoms and have your legal options looked at separately.
Nothing to ask. The case review is free with no obligation. If a participating law firm takes your case, it will normally work on contingency. That means the fee comes out of a recovery, and no fee is owed if there is no recovery.
No. Direct2Attorney is a legal marketing and referral service, not a law firm. An attorney-client relationship may form only after a participating law firm reviews your information and signs a separate representation agreement with you.
Ask it on the call. The review is free, and there is no obligation to move forward.
— Sources
Litigation facts change frequently. This page was last reviewed on July 31, 2026. No bellwether trial date had been set and no settlement existed as of that date. Failure rates described in complaints are allegations that have not been established in court. Nothing here is legal or medical advice.
