After a crime is committed in a home or business, not only can it cause significant emotional trauma—it can also leave behind biohazards and chemical contamination that may be dangerous to occupants. Depending upon the type of crime and ensuing investigation, the scene may also have fingerprint powder or tear gas present as well.
It’s reasonable to ask who is responsible for paying crime scene cleanup costs. Unfortunately, although it may seem logical that emergency responders are responsible for at least their share of the cleanup costs, in reality, it’s the owner of the home, business or other type of property who is almost always responsible for biohazardous decontamination, such as the cleanup of blood, bodily tissues, and other bodily fluids.
Costs of Crime Scene Clean Up
Cleanup costs can vary significantly, depending upon the crime, the amount of time that elapsed between the crime and the start of the cleanup, the size of the area affected, the level of structural damage, the difficulty in accessing the crime scene and more.
If you’re faced with the distressing task of crime cleanup at your home, we recommend that you contact the company that holds your homeowner’s insurance policy. Many but not all policies provide coverage. Make sure you talk to your insurance adjuster, rather than the insurance agent whose job it is to sell policies and handle general questions.
It’s important to clearly communicate to the adjuster what happened. Emotionally challenging as it may be to discuss, your policy may pay for certain situations but not others. For example, one homeowner’s policy may pay for homicide or suicide cleanup, while another may pay for that plus cleanup after assaults or accidental deaths. Yet another may not cover these costs at all (more about that soon).
Important facts to know:
- If your policy does cover crime scene cleanup, the insurance company isn’t allowed to require you to go to a certain cleaning company. They must provide the coverage you’re entitled to, and you pick the crime scene cleaners you want.
- You may be able to get crime scene clean up funds from your state’s program connected to the National Association of Crime Victim Compensation Boards
- The court system may ultimately award the crime victim or his/her family with funds for cleanup, but that won’t happen quickly.
Which Crime Scene Cleaners Are Right for You?
Make sure the company actually specializes in crime clean up. Some companies may list this as a specialty, but it’s really a sideline—and this is not the type of situation where you want inexperienced cleaners. You need experienced professionals who provide fast, compassionate service and who can help with insurance claim paperwork and communications.
Advanced Bio-Treatment Crime Cleanup Services
Whether you need forensic cleaning services or another type of crime cleanup, we have live operators ready to take your call anytime of night or day, any day of the year. Call us at 800-295-1684.
