Forensic Pathology Autopsy Services

Orange County, California is requesting proposals for Forensic Pathology Autopsy Services, with proposals due October 30, 2026 at 2:00 p.m. and questions due October 28, 2026 at 2:00 p.m. OCLSB or DVBE certified businesses receive a 5% preference, or 8% if certified as both.

Respondents must hold current board certification in forensic pathology through the American Board of Pathology or American Osteopathic Board of Pathology, an unrestricted California Physician and Surgeon License, completion of an ACGME-accredited Forensic Pathology fellowship, and a minimum of 10 years of post-board-certification forensic pathology practice. The contractor must be located within 80 miles of the Orange County Coroner's Office and demonstrate complete organizational independence from the Orange County Sheriff-Coroner's Office. Services include routine and special autopsies (officer-involved shootings, custodial deaths, post-custody deaths, fetal demise), medicolegal death investigations, expert witness testimony, toxicology and histology processing, and consultation with law enforcement and county personnel. The contractor must maintain 24/7 availability with autopsy completion within 72 hours of notification during standard business hours (9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding County holidays). Performance locations include the Orange County District Attorney's Office, Coroner facility, hospitals, and death scenes throughout Orange County.

The contract term is three calendar years from execution with no automatic renewal. Compensation is a firm fixed fee per individual job inclusive of all business-related expenses, with no overtime rates allowed. Annual not-to-exceed amounts are TBD for each contract year; no price increases are permitted during the first year, and any increases thereafter require 60 days' advance written notice with documented proof of cost increases. The contractor must maintain professional liability insurance at $1,000,000 per claims-made or occurrence and $1,000,000 aggregate; commercial general liability at $1,000,000 per occurrence and $2,000,000 aggregate; automobile liability at $1,000,000 combined single limit; workers' compensation as required by California law; and network security and privacy liability at $1,000,000 per occurrence or claims made and $2,000,000 aggregate.

Evaluation criteria total 900 written response points plus 400 interview points: qualifications and experience (200 points), technical expertise (100 points), scope of work capability (75 points), organizational independence and integrity (25 points), desired qualifications (50 points), model contract compliance (50 points), and cost proposal (100 points). All proposals must be submitted electronically via the County's eProcurement Portal; facsimile and email submissions are not accepted.