By Steve Harvey

A growth industry in L.A.: Joel Maliniak tipped us to a traffic sign that’s even less cheery than a jammed freeway - a van displaying the phone number (800) AUTOPSY.

We gave AUTOPSY a jingle and spoke to the founder, Vidal Herrea, a former coroner’s investigator who was forced to retire from his county job because of an injury ("I hurt my back lifting a body").

Herrera’s Autopsy/Post Services suppplies physicians for private and forensic autopsies, removes organs for medical research, conducts paternity DNA analysis and, of course, acts as a consultant for TV shows.

"I didn’t advertise on my van at first because this is a very personal business," he said. "But then I saw all the 800 ads on TV and thought, why not? Business has gone up at least 50% since them."

Not all the attention is positive. "I parked in the handicapped zone when I went to eat a Yamashir’s restaurant," Herrera said. "I have a permit because of my back. But the restaurant made me move. They said it was in bad taste."

The evening wasn’t a total loss, though. "Five attorneys approached me," he said, "and I gave each one my card."