Waterloo and Cedar Falls are John Deere country — the Waterloo tractor works were among the largest farm-equipment plants in the world, and the Rath Packing plant fed the city alongside them. Foundry, forge, and assembly work of this kind reportedly relied on asbestos-containing insulation and materials for most of the century, and the Cedar Valley’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.