Who cleans up after an unattended death in Virginia?

The medical examiner and the funeral home deal with the person who died, not with the home. Once the body is removed, cleaning the space is usually arranged by the property's owner, the family or the estate, or by the landlord for a rental, and it is done by a specialized cleanup company. It should not wait long, because body fluids soak into floors and furnishings and the smell spreads.

If you are the one facing this, you are likely grieving. Take a breath, make the calls below, and let trained people do the cleaning.

What the medical examiner does

Virginia law requires the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner to be notified of a death from trauma, injury, violence, poisoning, accident, suicide or homicide, a death that comes suddenly when the person was in apparent good health, or a death when the person was unattended by a physician.^[1] The notification can come from the physician in attendance, a hospital, a law-enforcement officer, a funeral director or any other person who knows of the death.^[1] After notification, the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner takes charge of the dead body and investigates the cause and manner of death.^[1] The law also requires good faith efforts to identify and notify the next of kin.^[1]

That statute is about the death and the body. It does not turn the medical examiner or the police into the people who clean the home, so plan on arranging the cleanup yourself once the scene is released. Ask the investigating agency when you may re-enter and whether anything must stay in place.

Who is responsible for the cost

It depends on who owns the property and who holds the insurance. The usual paths:

• Homeowner or estate. The family or the person handling the estate arranges and pays for the cleaning, and may be able to claim part of it on a homeowners policy. Call the insurer before work starts and ask what is covered.
• Landlord. For a rental, tell the landlord at once. The lease and the landlord's insurance decide who arranges and pays.
• Other coverage. Ask the investigating agency and your insurer whether any other coverage applies rather than assuming.

Keep photographs, invoices and disposal paperwork for any claim.

Why this needs a specialist

Body fluids carry bloodborne pathogens, and the rules are strict. Under Virginia's rules, wastes consisting of human blood or body fluids, containers of human blood or body fluids, and items contaminated with human blood or body fluids are regulated medical waste.^[2] Virginia's regulated medical waste rules apply to everyone who generates, transports, stores, treats or disposes of regulated medical waste in the Commonwealth,^[3] so household trash is not the right place for removed carpet or bedding.

On the worker side, OSHA's bloodborne pathogens standard requires surfaces that touched blood or other potentially infectious materials to be cleaned and decontaminated, and overtly contaminated surfaces to be treated with an appropriate disinfectant.^[4] An employer whose workers can be exposed must have a written Exposure Control Plan, provide protective equipment such as gloves, gowns, face shields and masks at no cost to the worker, and make hepatitis B vaccination available within 10 working days of the worker's first assignment.^[4] The same standard lists human remains among the possible sources of exposure.^[4]

Household cleaners and a mop do not do this job. They can spread contamination into porous materials and leave a hazard behind for the next person who lives there.

Choosing a cleanup company

Ask these questions of every company you call:

• Are your workers trained in bloodborne pathogen safety, and do you have a written exposure control plan?
• How will you package and dispose of what you remove, and can I have the disposal paperwork?
• What does the written quote include: odor treatment, sealing, a final walkthrough?
• Does the quote cover rebuilding, or only cleanup? Who does the repairs, and are they licensed?
• Will you work with my insurer or landlord and give itemized invoices?

DPOR advises getting at least three written bids or estimates using identical plans and specifications so you can compare prices and contractors.^[5] For what that looks like in dollars, see how much biohazard cleanup costs in Virginia.

When to call a licensed pro

For the cleanup, and always for anything rebuilt afterward. Replacing flooring, subfloor or drywall is contracting work. Virginia law says no person shall engage in, or offer to engage in, contracting work in the Commonwealth unless he has been licensed,^[6] and a Class C licence covers a single contract over $1,000 but less than $30,000.^[7] Check the licence before you pay a deposit.

For related reading, see what happens during a sewage cleanup. Browse restoration services, read more restoration answers, or describe your job once and local businesses will quote it.