I have questions but what do I do?
This is unfortunately a common scenario for families trying to find out what happened to a loved one. You might have asked the doctors who were caring for your loved one, the medical examiner, the funeral home, perhaps a lawyer. It is our hopes that this blog can take you through the process of obtaining an independent autopsy from PrivateAutopsy, Inc.
Once we receive a call from an individual we ask for the location of the deceased, and most importantly the reasons an autopsy is being requested. As professionals that have worked with hundreds of cases throughout the United States, we do our best to provide direction and advice on what would be the best way to answer the lingering questions on cause of death. We take into account how long one has been deceased; what tests/services can be done to give viable findings aligning with the families needs, and many other contributing factors. The more information families are comfortable in providing is beneficial.
After the services and process are explained, we send a Consent Form Packet for the Legal Next of Kin to the deceased to sign.
When we receive the completed packet, we coordinate with professionals to conduct the services. This is commonly completed at the funeral home where the deceased is located. The services range in invasiveness, but all are done with utmost care, respect, and professionalism.
After the services are complete, the professional who conducted the services will provide a "Preliminary Report" to the families within 3-4 weeks. The Final Report of findings takes approximately 3 months. The timeliness is based on many factors and does fluctuate. We do our best to be in communication with the professional to keep the families up to date on the status and expected timeline of receiving the results/findings.