I would like to let you know about the exploitative, unscrupulous and dishonest practice of the biohazard cleanup contractor, Aftermath, Inc. which was brought in with the assistance of your department to help with the cleanup of the suicide of my father in law.

His grieving widow, our family, and anyone else for that matter, does not deserve and should be prevented from being further exploited in the way Aftermath, Inc had intended to do so. The family was devastated by this event and just wanted everything to be taken care of right away. Thankfully, I, as the most removed son in law, was stubborn enough to make sure no one signed a contract with Aftermath, Inc, until we knew what the cleanup would cost my mother in law.

As a result of the suicide, one twin bed and its box spring were left with a blood stain about 8-12 inches in diameter. In addition part of the headboard and an area of approximately 1 foot by 2 foot on the wall behind the bed had small spatters of blood (approximately a few dozen). Amazingly, Aftermath, Inc estimated a cleanup cost of over $7000. Their hourly rate is approximately $1000 per hour for three people and they estimated 3-5 hours to complete the job. They include many additional charges and then have the gall to include a 15% markup for miscellaneous fees. The six page contract even includes the statement “You agree that the charges for Labor are fair and reasonable based upon the level of skill and that the manner in which we complete the remediation of bio-hazardous materials”.

I was able to remove the contaminated materials and disinfect the headboard and wall in about 2 hours. In addition, the mortuary agreed to dispose of the removed materials at no charge.

The Police Department provided us an assistant who contacted my mother in law’s home owner insurance company for us. Based on our discussions with the police department representative, we were initially under the impression that we would be liable for the deductible of $1000 in the worse case. However when Aftermath, Inc. provided us the very high the estimate at approximately 7 pm, I personally contacted the insurance company directly and was told that they would not cover personal property (such as beds, throw rugs, and furniture), only fixed property (such as walls and secured carpeting).
Shame on Aftermath, Inc! They know that it is the standard practice of insurance companies to cover the cleanup of fixed property and not personal property. We asked them about insurance compensation and they said they did not know, which is a lie. This company intentionally attempts to convince victims in their weakest moments to believe that their homeowner’s insurance policy will take care of the cleanup costs and tries to rush them into a quick signature on the contract.