Firstly, what exactly is a corporation? According to Wikipedia a corporation is an organization, usually a group of people or a company, authorized to act as a single entity and is recognized as such in law. They often enjoy limited liability for their investors, which can lead to losses being externalized from investors to the government or general public, while losses to investors are generally limited to the amount of their investment.
They are considered an artificial legal person – a ‘body corporate" - an independent entity with rights before the law similar to those of a human being. There is no distinction between a corporation and a real person in most aspects of company law. In criminal law, the body of law that relates to crime. It proscribes conduct perceived as threatening, harmful, or otherwise endangering to the property, health, safety, and moral welfare of people inclusive of one's self.
This is a problem,because the company cannot be punished by imprisonment, community service orders, etc. Criminal case law has found that a company cannot be found guilty of crimes requiring intent (such as murder) since a company does not have a state of mind. They don't have independent will, and as such cannot attain knowledge or form an intention. The only possible punishment you can enforce is to fine or sue the company. Either in small claims court if your case is small. For larger cases you would file a "class action" lawsuit. A lawsuit in which a group of people with the same or similar injuries caused by the same product or action sue the company as a group.
