The Cartiva implant was sold as a way to get around a big toe fusion. Instead of locking an arthritic joint in place, a surgeon would set a small plug of synthetic cartilage into the joint, and you’d keep the motion you need to walk, run, and climb stairs.
For patients whose implants failed, the story ended in an operating room anyway, with a surgeon removing the plug and fusing the joint it was supposed to save. Then came the Cartiva synthetic cartilage implant recall in October 2024.
If you’re living with pain, stiffness, or a second surgery, Thomas Law Offices can help you find out whether you have a medical malpractice claim.
The FDA approved the Cartiva Synthetic Cartilage Implant in July 2016 to treat arthritis in the big toe joint; a condition doctors call hallux rigidus.
Stryker, which now owns Cartiva, warned surgeons and hospitals on Oct. 31, 2024, that patients could face higher rates of revision, removal, pain, nerve damage, and implants sinking, shifting, or breaking apart at a rate higher than the company’s earlier studies showed.
The recall covers every size and every lot distributed from July 2016 through October 2024. The FDA classified it as a Class 2 recall and listed the cause as device design, according to its recall record.
What does that mean if the implant is still in your foot? The notice asks surgeons to monitor patients for problems, and it stops short of recommending removal.
Failed Cartiva toe implant symptoms can look a lot like the arthritis that sent you to surgery in the first place. Stryker’s recall notice asks surgeons to watch for:
Imaging often explains the pain. In one study of patients who came back with symptoms, MRI showed the bone channel holding the implant had widened past the implant’s own size, and most had fluid collecting around it. Bone loss around an implant is called osteolysis, and it can leave a surgeon less to work with the next time.
Not everyone who received a Cartiva implant will have a legal claim. However, you may want to speak with an attorney if you experienced complications or other problems after receiving a Cartiva implant, especially if those problems required additional medical treatment. You may qualify for a Cartiva lawsuit if you:
The circumstances surrounding every Cartiva case are different. Factors such as your medical records, the condition of the joint before implantation, the symptoms you experienced afterward, the treatment you required, and the timing of those events can all be important when determining whether you may have a claim.
If you received a Cartiva implant and believe something went wrong, an attorney can review your medical history and explain whether your circumstances may support a claim.
You have enough on your plate. Get a free case evaluation and clear answers from our experienced attorneys today — we’ll take it from here.
The Cartiva SCI is a small cylinder of hydrogel pressed into the end of a foot bone. Studies point out three ways it goes wrong.
Not every failure traces back to the device. If a surgeon chose the wrong size or placed the implant poorly, that could be medical negligence, a separate claim.
When a Cartiva implant fails, many surgeons remove it and fuse the big toe joint. Some replace the implant instead.
Fusion usually eases the pain. However, it also ends motion in the joint for good, which is exactly what you had the Cartiva surgery to prevent. A fusion done after a failed implant also starts at a disadvantage. A 2025 study found these revision fusions failed to heal more often and left patients with worse function than first-time fusions.
Meanwhile, you’re facing another surgery, another stretch in a boot or on crutches, and more time away from work, all to undo a procedure that was supposed to be the “easier” path to solving this problem.
Federal Cartiva lawsuits are now grouped in a single multidistrict litigation, or MDL, before Chief Judge Kristine G. Baker in federal court in Little Rock, Arkansas, where each patient keeps an individual case. Product liability claims over Cartiva center on two theories: a design defect (the FDA itself listed device design as the recall’s cause) and failure to warn surgeons and patients how often the implant failed.
Those claims face a hurdle that many injury cases don’t. The FDA approved Cartiva through premarket approval, its most demanding review, and federal law blocks claims that simply second-guess an approved design or label. To survive, a claim generally must tie the defect or missing warning to a violation of the federal requirements that came with that approval.
Building this kind of claim takes lawyers who know where those lines fall.
Our firm also handles other failed-implant cases, including implanted port catheter injuries. Thomas Law Offices provides nationwide legal representation for patients hurt by defective medical devices.
If you believe your Cartiva implant may be failing or causing complications, document what you’re experiencing and preserve information about the device. The steps you take now may also help your medical providers determine what is causing your symptoms and help preserve information that could be relevant to a potential legal claim.
If you have experienced complications related to a Cartiva implant, you may be entitled to seek compensation for losses associated with your injury. The damages available in a particular case depend on the facts, the applicable law, and the evidence supporting the claim.
Potential compensation may include:
Every case is different. The amount and types of compensation available will depend on factors such as the nature and severity of the injury, the treatment required, the effect on employment and daily activities, and the applicable law.
A defective or failed medical implant can turn a procedure that was supposed to relieve pain into a new source of uncertainty, additional treatment, and unexpected expenses. If you experienced complications involving a Cartiva implant, you may have questions about what happened, what evidence you should preserve, and whether you have a legal claim.
Thomas Law Offices represents individuals who have suffered injuries associated with defective medical devices and other dangerous products. The firm is based in Louisville and has offices in Chicago, Cincinnati, and Columbia, Missouri.
If you believe a Cartiva implant caused you harm, an attorney can review your medical history, treatment records, and other information to determine whether your circumstances may support a claim. Because legal deadlines can apply to product liability and medical-device cases, it’s important not to wait too long to seek legal advice.
Contact Thomas Law Offices for a free case evaluation and to discuss your situation with a member of the firm’s legal team.
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