He's been nicknamed El Muerto and Cadaver King. Some say he has a job to "die" for. One thing is certain: Vidal Herrera will always be known as the Latino who paved the way for others in the independent autopsy business.

Herrera is founder and CEO of Autopsy/Post Services, Inc., a freelance autopsy company based in Los Angeles. The nine-year-old business offers eighteen services, such as private and forensic autopsies, post DNA analysis, medical photography, TV and movie consultation, and post-traumatic services.

Herrera, 46, was able to take advantage of the steady decline in autopsies performed in hospitals over the past 30 years that opened up this unique market for freelancers, "I was just in the right place at the right time and I'm still going forward." he says.

Using clever ideas such as his 1-800-AUTOPSY phone number and white vans distinctly advertising his mobile autopsy services, Herrera's high-demand business performed 900 autopsies in 1997, compared with only 200 in 1989, and had to turn down 10,000 calls last year. The autopsies start at $2,000 and include homicides, suicides, accidents, and questionable deaths.

Herrera started out as an orderly for the Los Angeles County Medical Center in 1973. By 1980 he as a field deputy coroner investigator. He now employs three assistants and nine pathologists and teaches first-year pathology residents how to perform autopsies at the V.A. Medical Center in Los Angeles.

"His performance, technique, and knowledge of investigation make him one of the best forensic autopsy technicians I have ever worked with," says pathologist Dr.Silvia O. Comparini.

Stacey I. Causey