Where to start with a trauma cleanup
Dealing with a trauma scene cleanup is not the first thought on your mind after encountering a traumatic incident. At a highly emotional time filled with shock and grief, you do not need the added stress of cleaning. Mayken™ Hazmat has worked with clients over the years facing similar situations and understands what you are going through. We are here to help in this difficult time with compassion, sensitivity, and discretion.
Everyone responds to a traumatic incident differently. Waiting to clean, wanting to clean right away or being too overwhelmed to do anything are all perfectly normal responses. Time is needed to process what happened. To help deal with the clean up process in a manageable way there are 4 important steps to follow.
4 important steps for cleaning up a trauma or crime scene
- Call the appropriate local authorities
- Call professional crime scene cleaners
- Call your insurance broker
- Follow provided guidance before and during the cleanup process
1. Call the appropriate local authorities
This step may appear obvious but under stress could be overlooked. The first phone call after discovering a homicide or trauma scene, accidental death, unattended death, or suicide should be made to 911. They will assess your situation and send the appropriate resources to the location of the trauma.
Once the deceased has been removed and the crime or accident scene has been released by the coroner to the family or property owner, we can get to work. This process ensures evidence will not be disturbed during an accident or crime scene cleanup.
2. Call a professional biohazard cleaning service
After speaking with the local authorities, contact an experienced bioremediation or biohazard cleaning service. We cannot stress enough the importance of using experts to clean up a crime scene or other incidents where a death has occurred.
Cleaning up biohazardous material is not the same as household cleaning. Additional risk exposures to infectious diseases such as HIV and Hepatitis B or C are present in the room and air when blood, urine, vomit, feces, bodily fluids and other biomaterials are involved. Additionally, some trauma sites may involve drug contamination, sharps or drug making equipment.
Janitorial companies are not suited for offering biohazard cleanup services either. Proper training and personal protective equipment (PPE) are required to mitigate the risks of cleaning, disinfecting, decontaminating, and disposal of the hazardous waste in a safe manner.
With our approach, experience, and training as a hazmat technician and biohazardous cleaner, you can be certain at the end of the job, all hazardous and biological matter has been removed.
3. Call your insurance agent
The third important call to make is to your insurance agent. Another element of overwhelm to the situation is how to pay for the cleanup. Trauma and crime scene costs are the responsibility of the property owner.
Mayken™ is familiar with the nature of the work required to make your space safe again. No two trauma scenes are the same. We evaluate each site and provide a custom quote that is fair, complete and does not come with surprises.
Your business or homeowner insurance policy likely provides coverage for using professional biohazard cleanup services to take care of cleaning up the trauma or crime scene. Your insurance agent will send an adjuster to the location to determine what is covered. We can advocate on your behalf as to the extent of the damage the adjuster might not see.
4. Follow provided guidance
From the time you first reach out to us through to the cleanup being finished, part of our role is to become guides or consultants for you. There are things you will not know and never expected to know but need to be done or not done. Being sympathetic to your circumstances, we strive to reduce your stress and return a biologically safe and clean site back to you as quickly as possible. Our process has been refined over the years to be both sensitive and efficient. Having a knowledgeable, caring, trained technician to help navigate the details and decisions goes a long way in returning to normal.
Dealing with a trauma or crime scene cleanup does not have to be one more burden to bear. Following this four-step process and working with bio hazard cleanup experts will get you through this trying time more easily and enable you to focus on healing.
