Page Updated February 16, 2026

Mesothelioma Lawsuit Exposes Corporate Concealment of Asbestos Dangers

Page Reviewed and Edited by

Mesothelioma Attorney Paul Danziger

An asbestos lawsuit filed by Edward Montelongo reveals how, for decades, multiple major corporations knowingly concealed the risk of mesothelioma and other serious illnesses. The Louisiana man says the companies consciously suppressed scientific evidence about asbestos dangers while exposing workers to the deadly mineral.

Mesothelioma Victim’s Lawsuit Details Corporate Fraud and Suppression of Health Risks

Edward Montelongo’s lawsuit was filed against companies that are frequently named in mesothelioma claims: They include Avondale Shipyards, General Electric, Shell USA, Westinghouse Electric Corporation, and Kaiser Aluminum & Chemical Corporation. His filing describes the extensive asbestos exposure he experienced while working at Avondale Shipyards and Kaiser Aluminum facilities. The complaint alleges this exposure caused his asbestosis diagnosis and contributed to illnesses suffered by many of his co-workers who faced identical contamination.

The lawsuit accuses the defendant companies of failing to exercise reasonable care for worker safety on or around their properties and failing or willfully refusing to comply with safety standards designed to prevent mesothelioma and other asbestos diseases. Most damningly, the complaint alleges that despite possessing detailed knowledge of asbestos dangers, the companies deliberately concealed the information from workers like Montelongo, who faced daily exposure to the toxic mineral.

Montelongo specifically accuses Westinghouse Electric Corporation of failing and refusing to warn workers about the dangers its asbestos-containing products, stating, “They also failed to warn of the invisible nature of the asbestos and that it could cause deadly diseases such as lung cancer, asbestosis, and mesothelioma.” The lawsuit accuses Westinghouse and other defendants of having fraudulently concealed and suppressed the truth about asbestos’s deadly nature.

Mesothelioma Lawsuit Cites “Smoking Gun” Documents Proving Corporate Knowledge Since 1930s

Mr. Montelongo’s claim cites specific reports provided to Westinghouse Corporation and other defendants throughout the 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s containing scientific and medical information about mesothelioma risks and other health hazards posed by asbestos. His complaint accuses the companies of engaging in “a pattern of suppressing information about its asbestos-containing products and health hazards associated with same”—deliberately hiding the dangers from workers for commercial advantage.

Among the most damning evidence in the mesothelioma lawsuit are “smoking gun documents” proving Westinghouse decided to “destroy relevant documents in furtherance of its fraudulent activities whereby it misrepresented the dangers of its asbestos-containing products in order to gain a commercial advantage” and avoid litigation about mesothelioma and other illnesses. The complaint alleges Westinghouse deliberately destroyed evidence of its knowledge to protect corporate profits.

Mesothelioma Claims Extend to Multiple Corporate Defendants

Mr. Montelongo included General Electric and other defendants in the claim, alleging that during the time that he suffered asbestos exposure, all named companies “were aware or should have been aware of the health hazards associated with exposure to asbestos”—including mesothelioma risks that would manifest decades later in exposed workers.

He seeks damages for past, present, and future physical pain and suffering linked to his asbestosis, loss of income and earning capacity, medical expenses, and other harms caused by the defendants’ decades-long cover-up. His case exemplifies how corporate fraud and concealment transformed preventable occupational hazards into the epidemic of asbestos-related diseases that continues claiming victims today—workers who were betrayed by companies that valued commercial advantage over human lives and health.