Lubbock County Medical Examiner to charge for storage of human remains

The Lubbock Medical Examiner’s office is getting overwhelmed with cases, with remaining at the office for months.

Families of the deceased either cannot afford to move them to a final resting place or delaying decisions.

The backlog is not strictly due to the pandemic, or any increase in crime.

Bambi Trevino, office manager for the Lubbock County Medical Examiner, on Monday presented the case for a fee structure to Lubbock county commissioners for charging families and hospitals who have left remains with the ME for more than five days.

“A lot of the people that we talk to, they just don’t want to deal with the body,” Trevino said. “It kind of feels like, ‘Well the ME’s office is not going to charge; just call them and they’ll pick it up.’ So we want to compel them to help us convince the families to initiate that process.”

The charge for storage would be $75 a day when the office holds a body longer than five days and be assessed to whoever asks the office to intake the remains, whether it’s a family, a hospital, or a hospice care provider.

The commissioners support the proposal, but not without some hesitation when it comes to the legal side of things.

Neal Burt with the Lubbock County District Attorney’s Office said, “We need the auditor’s office, the treasurer’s office, the wings that are going to be collecting this, what happens when we create uncollectable debt on behalf of the county? What happens when we create debt that bounces back to our hospital district, whether that’s even prudent or possible to begin with.”

In the end, commissioners approved the measure four to one, with Judge Curtis Parrish dissenting. Parrish wanted to wait on final approval, until all those meetings were held, but generally agreed with the fee structure.

Additionally, commissioners approved $10 million for a new medical examiner’s facility passed unanimously. That money will be coming from the American Rescue Plan. The work on that facility will begin as soon as possible, sending out requests for quotes and seeking out firms to design and build the facility.