Serious Injury Scene Cleanup

Accidents that lead to these calls

The common thread is a sudden injury with a lot of bleeding, followed by the person leaving with paramedics. Typical examples:

If the person died, or if a crime was involved, other pages fit better: see crime scene cleanup or what to expect after a traumatic death.

How an injury scene differs from other trauma scenes

Injury scenes are usually found and dealt with quickly, so material hasn't had long to soak in. There is often no investigation, so there may be no release to wait for. That means the job can often be smaller and more straightforward than a death scene.

But injury scenes also have their own complications. Paramedics work fast, and the path from where the person fell to the door may have been tracked through other rooms. Equipment left behind, such as bandage wrappers and gloves, is itself contaminated. And people often try to tidy up before calling, which can push material into carpet or grout.

If you need help with blood that was left for days before anyone could deal with it, dried blood cleanup explains the extra work involved. For the blood-specific side of an injury, blood cleanup after a traumatic injury covers surfaces and materials in more depth.

For employers and facility managers

After a workplace injury, you have an injured employee, shaken coworkers, possibly a stopped production line, and a reporting process to start. Cleanup is one more thing to arrange.

OSHA's Bloodborne Pathogens Standard applies to employers whose employees have occupational exposure to blood, and sets requirements such as an exposure control plan, protective equipment and training. Whether your own staff should clean up after an injury depends on your obligations under that standard and your own plan. Bringing in an outside cleanup company is one way to avoid putting untrained employees in contact with blood.

Things we'll ask about:

• Whether any investigation, internal or external, needs the area left as it is first.
• Which equipment was involved, and whether it's safe to approach. Machinery needs to be locked out by your people before we work near it.
• Which areas must stay operating, so we can contain the work zone around them.

Workplace biohazard cleanup and our article on planning for a traumatic incident go further.

For families

If you're reading this from a hospital waiting room, the most useful thing to know is that the house can wait a little. Close the door to the affected area, keep pets out, and don't worry about cleaning it. Ask a neighbor to check the house is locked if everyone left in a hurry.

When you're ready, call us. If you can't be at the property, a relative or friend can meet us. We'll go through the scope with whoever is there and send photos to you if that helps. Older homes often have carpet over hardwood, and we'll check whether the wood beneath is affected before deciding what to remove.

The process, start to finish

1. Call and access

   We confirm where the injury happened, whether anyone needs the area left untouched, and who will let us in.

2. Assessment

   We trace the affected area, including the route the person was moved along, and write a scope.

3. Removal

   Contaminated porous material such as carpet, pad or rugs is removed and sealed. Discarded medical supplies are bagged with it.

4. Cleaning and disinfection

   Floors, walls, stairs, railings, equipment surfaces and anything else affected are cleaned, then treated with EPA-registered disinfectants used according to label directions.

5. Return to use

   We walk through with you and hand over photos and an itemized invoice. If flooring was removed, you'll know what a contractor needs to replace.

How long before the space is usable

Many single-area injury jobs are finished in one visit, because the material is fresh and confined. Larger jobs take longer, especially if subfloor or drywall must come out. We can't promise when we'll arrive, but once we're on site we'll give you a realistic estimate of how long the work will take and when people can go back in. Our guide to cleanup after a serious injury explains what affects that timeline.

Scope, price and paperwork

Price comes from the written scope after assessment. It depends on the size of the area, what materials are affected, whether anything was tracked into other rooms, and access. The Order Online page takes a $2,000 initial deposit, which is not the final price. Some property or business insurance policies may cover some of the work, depending entirely on the policy; ask your insurer. For workplace incidents, our photos and itemized invoice can support your own incident records.

We travel across our Middle Tennessee service area, including industrial and residential areas in Smyrna, La Vergne and Gallatin.

Questions people ask