Bard issued three separate hernia patch recalls between 2005 and 2007 over problems with the memory recoil ring that holds the Kugel patch in place after it is implanted during hernia repair surgery. The memory recoil ring in some types of the patch was prone to break, creating a risk of serious and potentially deadly side effects, including bowel obstruction, bowel perforation and chronic enteric fistulas.

One of the Kugel lawsuits settled was among the four bellweather lawsuits scheduled to begin trial in March 2010. All of the lawsuits filed over the Kugel hernia patch were consolidated in U.S. District Court in Rhode Island in July 2009. The remaining bellweather cases are slated to begin trial next year on their scheduled dates.