Guide
After a death at home in Lexington: what happens next
A plain account of the order things happen in, so the next few days are a little less uncertain.
Step by step
Call 911
If you are not sure the person has died, the dispatcher will guide you. Emergency services and police will come.
Leave things as they are
Kentucky law says that after a death of the kinds listed in KRS 72.025, no one should move the body or remove anything from it until the coroner directs it (KRS 72.020).
Police and the coroner investigate
The Fayette County Coroner’s Office investigates deaths reported to it that fall under its jurisdiction. Its investigative staff must be certified by the American Board of Medicolegal Death Investigators within two years of appointment.
A post-mortem may be ordered
Kentucky requires one in many cases, including suicide, apparent homicide, accidents, deaths that are sudden and unexplained, and deaths where decomposition prevents ruling out injury (KRS 72.025).
Choose a funeral home
The family chooses a funeral home, which arranges to collect the person from the coroner when they are released.
The home is released
When police and the coroner are finished, the family or owner can arrange cleanup. Keep the affected room closed until then.
Arrange cleanup
Call a cleanup company, or this number to be connected with one. Ask about price, timing and billing before you agree.
If the family cannot pay for a funeral
The Fayette County Coroner’s Office also runs the indigent burial and cremation program through the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government (coroner’s office). Its office line is (859) 455-5700.
Expected deaths are different
When someone dies at home under hospice or a doctor’s care, from an illness that explains the death, the process is usually simpler. The hospice team or the doctor will tell you whom to call. Biohazard cleanup is often not needed at all.