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Biohazard CleanupLas Vegas

Step by step

What happens after a death at home in Las Vegas

This is the order things usually go in when a death at home is sudden, violent or was not discovered straight away. Expected deaths under hospice care follow a simpler path.

From the first call to an empty, clean room

  1. Call 911

    Police and paramedics come. Leave the room as it is and wait somewhere else in the home or outside.

  2. Police look at the scene

    Metro in the city and the unincorporated towns, or the North Las Vegas or Henderson department. They decide whether detectives are needed.

  3. The coroner's investigator arrives

    The Clark County Office of the Coroner/Medical Examiner investigates deaths by criminal means, violence or suicide, and any unattended death whatever the cause.

  4. Next of kin are told

    If you were not there, NRS 259.045 requires the coroner to make a reasonable effort to notify the next of kin without unreasonable delay.

  5. The person is taken into the coroner's care

    Anything taken with them is listed on a property receipt, co-signed by a witness, and kept for the family.

  6. The home is released

    An officer or the investigator tells you they are finished. From here the property is the family's or owner's responsibility, and cleanup may start.

  7. You choose a funeral home

    Tell the coroner's office which one. The office says release normally follows within 24 to 48 hours of the examination.

  8. Cleanup

    A cleanup company removes what is contaminated and disinfects the rest. The family doesn't need to be in the room.

Things the coroner's office says families should know

  • You have to tell the office the name of the funeral home or crematory. If you don't choose, it may release to one it uses, and changing later means dealing with that funeral home directly.
  • It decides whether an autopsy is done. It tries to respect a family's wishes but is not bound by them.
  • It doesn't give preliminary findings. A cause and manner of death can take weeks.
  • Belongings are handed over by appointment only, to the legal next of kin or someone they name. Phone (702) 455-3210.
  • It doesn't issue death certificates. The Southern Nevada Health District does.

All of this is on the coroner's questions page. The office is at 1704 Pinto Lane, Las Vegas, NV 89106, open weekdays from 8:00 to 4:30.

Death certificates

Certified copies come from the Southern Nevada Health District's vital records office. You can order online, by post or by leaving the form in the drop box at 280 S. Decatur Blvd. There is no same-day service, so order early and order several: banks, insurers and the DMV each want one.

Applicants need photo identification and, in most cases, proof of how they are related to the person. The office's number is (702) 759-1010. Order from the health district itself; it warns about outside websites that charge extra to pass an application along.

A short list for the first week

  • Police event number and the officer's name
  • Coroner case number
  • Funeral home chosen and the coroner told
  • Insurer or agent phoned about the home
  • Landlord or association told, if there is one
  • Mail, pets, medication and car keys accounted for
  • Air conditioning left on in warm months
  • Cleanup booked for after the release

Las Vegas valley, any hour

When you reach the cleanup step

You don't need to have every answer first. Questions are welcome before the home is released, before the insurer has replied and before you have decided anything.

Talk it through with a cleanup company

Tell them what happened, what kind of home it is and whether police or the coroner have finished. They will say how they would go about it and what they charge for. Whether to hire them is up to you.

Call (725) 223-9153

Someone picks up 24 hours a day, every day

Your conversation may be recorded. Why, and what is kept, is set out in the privacy policy and the disclosure.

Call (725) 223-9153