Iowa’s working men and women who developed mesothelioma or some other lethal asbestos disease did so working in businesses that often were related to the state’s strong agrarian economic base. The meat packing plants in Des Moines and the fertilizer plants all had equipment that had various asbestos components. There were several chemical plants unrelated to the agriculture businesses in Clinton, Iowa. Today the Iowa business locations where asbestos exposure was a likelihood doesn’t reflect the state’s diversified economy.
The state does have some oil and gas resources. There are oil refineries in Dubuque and one or two smaller towns, as well as several natural gas installations. In Cedar Rapids there are two significant power plants and several food processing plants, one of which is operated by Quaker Oats. Sioux City has Swift and Company and Davenport has Oscar Meyer.
The state’s power plants were developed by large power companies, in some cases by municipalities and in some cases by electrical co-ops that consisted of agricultural communities who weren’t going to get electrical service otherwise. Many of these small plants were coal fired and had lots of asbestos fittings and insulation. Today Iowa Light and Power operates most of the systems in the state, with the exceptions of the municipal plants found in Cedar Rapids or Dubuque. In Humboldt it is, or was, the Corn Belt Power Cooperative.
Legal Rights for Iowa Asbestos Victims
There aren’t a lot of people from Iowa who have fallen victim to asbestosis or mesothelioma. In the cases that have been heard in Iowa; however, the “separate injury? rule has been acknowledged by the Iowa Supreme Court, which should be interpreted as a plus for asbestos victims. In Iowa, the standard statute of limitations on personal liability applies that is found in many other states: two years from the time of discovery, or in this case, diagnosis of the disease.
Under the separate disease rule, however, an asbestos victim that develops asbestosis and then ten years later is diagnosed with mesothelioma; these are recognized as separate diseases by the Iowa courts and assigned two different limitations on legal action. The window for legal action is two years after each diagnosis.
Although the state hasn’t been rocked by a deluge of mesothelioma lawsuits like the industrial states, it is still important to have an attorney who knows Iowa’s rules on time limits and rules on evidence, etc. If you are an Iowan suffering from an asbestos disease and there is a statute of limitations problem, you may have another option in federal court or with the trust funds set up by asbestos companies to pay off liability claims. Speak to an attorney who knows the Iowa law: fill out the brief form on this page and you will be contacted quickly by one of our attorneys, who will review your case and your options with you at no charge. Read more about how to to find the right Asbestos lawyer as well as recent Mesothelioma case settlements in addition to lawsuits for Mesothelioma.
