The Quad Cities span the Mississippi, and the industry never stopped at the river. On the Iowa bank, the Alcoa Davenport Works — one of the largest aluminum rolling mills in the country — anchored the metro, alongside the river and rail industry. Aluminum rolling and heavy manufacturing of this kind reportedly relied on asbestos-containing insulation and materials for decades, and the region’s trades were reportedly exposed for full careers.
Iowa allows two years from a mesothelioma or asbestos-cancer diagnosis to file a personal-injury or wrongful-death claim (Iowa Code § 614.1(2)), with the clock running from diagnosis under the discovery rule of Iowa’s asbestos-claims act (Chapter 686B). Iowa also requires a sworn medical affidavit to be filed with the complaint (§ 686B.3). Cases are filed in the county District Court of proper venue; Iowa has no statewide asbestos MDL.