A guide for Palm Beach County families
Who pays for biohazard cleanup?
The bill goes to whoever hires the company, which is normally the owner of the home or the family. That does not always mean the family ends up paying all of it. There are four places the money commonly comes from.
1. After a crime
Florida's Bureau of Victim Compensation
Florida runs a compensation program for people hurt by crime and for the families of people killed. It sits in the Attorney General's office. Its rules count crime scene cleanup as a loss it can compensate, next to funeral costs, counseling and lost wages (Rule 2A-2.2001).
The conditions that catch people out
- Police must hear about the crime within 120 hours. A later report needs a good reason.
- The claim form is due inside three years. With good cause shown, the Bureau can stretch that to five.
- It is a payor of last resort. Insurance and any other source are used up first (section 960.13).
- Each kind of cost has its own ceiling and time window. For crime scene cleanup, the cost has to be incurred within seven days of the crime (schedule of benefits). Awards are at the Bureau's discretion.
- Some applicants are ruled out by their own criminal history or by what they were doing at the time (program brochure).
Because of the seven-day window, raise cleanup with the Bureau in the first days, not after the invoice arrives. Victims can phone (800) 226-6667 or write to VCIntake@myfloridalegal.com (Bureau page).
Help filling in the form, close to home
Palm Beach County Victim Services lists help applying for victim compensation among what its advocates do. The office for people living between Lantana Road and the Broward line is in the South County Courthouse, 200 W. Atlantic Avenue in Delray Beach, 561-274-1500. Its helpline, 561-833-7273, is staffed day and night (Victim Services).
2. Property insurance
Homeowner, condo, renter and landlord policies
Many people ask whether insurance pays for this. Sometimes it does. It turns on the wording of the policy and on what happened, and nobody but the insurer can answer for your policy. This service cannot, and neither can a cleanup company.
What you can do is ask the right questions of your agent or insurer before work begins:
- Is biohazard or trauma cleanup covered under this policy, and is there a limit for it?
- Do you need to see the home, or photographs, before anything is removed?
- What do you need from the cleanup company afterward: an itemized invoice, photos, a waste manifest?
Keep your own notes of who you spoke to and when. For general questions about how insurance works in this state, the Florida Department of Financial Services has a consumer helpline, 1-877-693-5236, open weekdays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Eastern (DFS).
3 and 4
A landlord, or the estate
When the home is rented
The owner of a rental normally arranges and pays for work on the unit itself, then looks to their own insurance. A tenant's belongings are the tenant's, and so is a renter's policy if there is one. Tenants should tell the landlord in writing as soon as they can.
When the person has died
Reasonable costs of dealing with a person's home are commonly paid from their estate. Whoever is handling the estate should keep the invoice. If nobody has been appointed yet, ask a probate attorney before you sign for work in your own name.
What makes one job cost more than another
You will not find prices here, because honest ones cannot be given without seeing the room. These are the things a company weighs:
- the size of the affected area and how many rooms it reached
- the time that passed before the cleanup
- what the floor and walls are made of, and whether any of it must be cut out
- the weight of material that has to leave as biomedical waste
- odor treatment, and whether the air conditioning carried it
- access: a high floor, a narrow stair, a gated community with set contractor hours
Ask for the scope and the price in writing, and ask what would make the price change once work has started.
Payment questions
Does the state program pay the company directly?
Ask the Bureau how payment is made on your claim, and ask the company whether it is willing to wait. Some want payment from you first. Get the answer before you sign.
We missed the 120 hours. Is that the end of it?
Not necessarily. The program allows for good cause. Contact the Bureau, explain what happened and let them decide.
Does the program cover an accident or a natural death?
It exists for victims of crime. For an accident or a death from natural causes, look to insurance and the estate.
Boca Raton and nearby
Nobody in the family has to clean this room
Wait until the officers and the medical examiner's investigator have finished. Shut the door on the room, let the air conditioning run, and pick up the phone once you feel able to talk it through.
Ready when the home is yours again
One number reaches an independent biohazard cleanup company working in south Palm Beach County. Describe the room in your own words. Hiring them is up to you.
Call (728) 500-1824Answered 24 hours a day, 7 days a week
Your call may be recorded. The referral disclosure and privacy policy explain why.