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Biohazard and crime scene cleanup referrals for Lakeland and nearby Polk County towns

(863) 474-0772

Guide

After a death at home in Polk County

A plain account of what usually happens, in order, so you know what to expect and what you do not need to do.

A brick street lined with porch bungalows under mossy oaks, a lake at the far end

In order

  1. 1

    Call 911

    Even if you are sure the person has died. The dispatcher will send police and paramedics.

  2. 2

    Police come

    Inside Lakeland that is the Lakeland Police Department; outside city limits, usually the Polk County Sheriff's Office.

  3. 3

    The medical examiner decides

    For many deaths at home, the District 10 Medical Examiner's office takes charge of the person and decides what examination is needed.

  4. 4

    The funeral home

    You choose one, and it arranges with the medical examiner's office when your person can be brought into its care.

  5. 5

    The home is released

    The police tell you when the scene is yours again. Cleanup starts after that, never before.

When the medical examiner is involved

Florida law sends a death to the district medical examiner when it came from violence, an accident or suicide, when someone died suddenly in apparent good health, when no doctor was attending, or when the circumstances are unusual (s. 406.11).

Anyone who learns of such a death must report it to the medical examiner or the police, and the body and what is on or near it are left alone until the medical examiner's office says otherwise (s. 406.12).

Polk, Hardee and Highlands counties make up District 10 (Rule 11G-5.002). The office is at 1021 Jim Keene Blvd., Winter Haven; its listed number is (863) 298-4600 (FDLE district list).

The weeks after

Estate matters in Polk County go through the Clerk of Courts. Its main number is (863) 534-4000, and it has offices at the courthouse in Bartow, the Lakeland Government Center at 930 E. Parker St. and the Northeast Government Center in Lake Alfred (Clerk contact page).

None of that has to happen before cleanup. If the home needs attention now, the person with authority over it, often the next of kin, the executor or the landlord, can approve the work.

When you are ready

Let someone else carry this part

You do not have to settle everything today. A company can explain the work and give you its price, then wait while you talk it over with family.

Speak with a cleanup company

The person who answers is with an independent company that does this work around Lakeland. Say what happened, ask how they would handle it and what it would cost. Nothing is booked unless you agree.

Call (863) 474-0772

Someone picks up 24 hours a day, every day of the week

Calls may be recorded. How referrals are paid: disclosure. What is logged: privacy.

Call (863) 474-0772