Small Biz Carving Up Autopsy Trade
Except for a small poster of the Grateful Dead rock band, there’s very little to indicate what happens behind the walled-in industrial compound in East Los Angeles owned by Vidal and Vicki Herrera.
The only hint a casual observer might have is when a white Hummer pulls in or out of the driveway, the words “1-800-AUTOPSY” in bold black lettering on its side.
“They say dead men tell no tales, but I disagree,” says Vidal Hererra, a veteran autopsy technician.
And he should know. Hererra and his wife Vicki, the owners and creators of 1-800-AUTOPSY, a mom-and-pop business that provides private post-mortem examinations, hear tales from the dead every day — tales of drug abuse, poisonings, violence and medical malpractice.
Hererra’s business is one that might give many the chills, but he insists it’s a business with a red-hot future.
Autopsies used to be a normal procedure for deaths in U.S. hospitals, mainly to understand fully the cause of patients’ deaths. But the growth of managed health care plans has brought cutbacks, and these days only 2 to 5 percent of deaths are autopsied in hospitals, compared with about 50 percent of deaths in the 1970s. But demand remains constant, Hererra notes: Family members still want to know why their loved ones died.
“Death is, in fact, a recession-proof business — it just never stops,” said Hererra.
Photo by 1-800-AUTOPSY.
Jaclyn on November 12th, 2008 2:23 pm
Hererra does have a point when you think about it…i mean lets face it…death happens everyday, and usually multiple times per day…so this would be a business with a great future to get into today for recession proofness. there are also a number of families who feel a lot of time’s that the death was a little strange, or just have a feeling that something wasn’t quite right about it but unless police are involved there’s a good chance there will not be an autopsy. this business…enables families to get an autopsy on their own and know the truth about what happened!
cassy on November 13th, 2008 1:21 am
Autopsies can really help to determined if there is any foul play happened to the dead,especially if it died so strange.
This kind of business can help the authorities to solve a crime.
online business services on November 14th, 2008 1:25 am
Even i think this kind of things can help to cops for solving the crime problem..
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