Guide
After a death at home in Nashville
A plain order of events for families in Nashville and Davidson County. Some steps will not apply to you. Take them one at a time.
In order
How things usually unfold
Call 911
If no one has yet. Police and emergency crews respond to a death at home.
The medical examiner is told
Tennessee law (T.C.A. 38-7-108) requires the county medical examiner to be notified of deaths from violence or suicide, sudden deaths in apparent health, people found dead, and deaths in a suspicious, unusual or unnatural manner.
A scene investigation
When a death happens outside a hospital, an investigator for the medical examiner comes to the home to document the scene. The findings are preliminary.
Choose a funeral home
Tell the medical examiner's office which funeral director you have chosen. The office contacts the funeral home when the body can be released, nearly always within 24 hours.
Death certificates
Copies come from the health department in the county where the death happened, or from Tennessee State Vital Records, (615) 741-1763.
The cleanup
Once the scene is released, the room can be cleaned. Call when you are ready.
Source: Forensic Medical FAQ
Davidson County
From the medical examiner's office
Davidson County Medical Examiner
Forensic Medical Management Services has run medical examiner services for Metro Nashville and Davidson County under an agreement since 1997. Office: 850 R.S. Gass Blvd., Nashville, (615) 743-1800, open to the public weekdays 8:00 to 4:30. An investigator and a medical examiner take death reports 24 hours a day.
Sources: Forensic Medical, Forensic Medical FAQ
Autopsies
Not every case is autopsied; the forensic pathologist decides. The next of kin can state an objection, which the office says it takes seriously, though some autopsies are required by law. There is no charge to the family for a medical examiner autopsy.
Source: Forensic Medical FAQ
Reports and belongings
Autopsy reports are public documents in Tennessee and are usually ready in 8 to 12 weeks. Personal property that came in with the person is inventoried and released to the funeral director.
Sources: Forensic Medical FAQ, records requests
Meanwhile
Looking after the house
Close the door to the room where the person died. Keep children and pets out. Don't try to clean blood or fluids, and don't throw away bedding or furniture yourself.
Gather what you need for the next few days: keys, phone chargers, the person's wallet and papers, medication, and anything the funeral home asks for. The rest can wait.
If the family cannot afford a burial, the medical examiner's office points Nashville families to Metro Social Services, (615) 341-4130.
Source: Forensic Medical FAQ
Whenever you are ready
There is no wrong time to call
Some families call the same evening. Others wait until after the service. Until then, close the door to the room and leave the cleaning to people with the right protection.
Speak with a cleanup company
The call is put through to an independent company that works in your ZIP code. Ask what the job involves, how they price it and when they could begin. Nothing is agreed until you say so.
Call (615) 916-5290Answered 24 hours a day, 7 days a week
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