European Legal Developments in Product Liability and Product Safety and the Total Quality Management Approach

The purpose of this paper is to show that Product Liability (PL) and Product Safety (PS) are relevant categories in terms of the Total Quality Management literature. From a societal point of view PL and PS are two sides of a coin. The effects of the PL and PS regulation on companies are described and linked to the TQM-concept. By presenting the highlights of literature the proposed managerial remedies in the field of PL and PS are reviewed. Risk Management is a useful tool to estimate the vulnerability of a company to PL. An example of a checklist that can be used to audit the actual corporate state of affairs on PL and PS is presented. An in-company multidisciplinary Task Force of Experts on Safety should be charged with a monitoring function with regard to PS and should develop and implement a PL prevention policy