S40.911S vs S40.912S

S40.911S (Unspecified superficial injury of right shoulder, sequela) compared with S40.912S (Unspecified superficial injury of left shoulder, sequela), from the official CMS tabular data.

Summary

These codes name the same condition on opposite sides of the body, so the documented side decides which one applies.

MedCoder-derived

What is different?

Title wording.The titles differ in one word, “right” (S40.911S) versus “left” (S40.912S): S40.911S is “Unspecified superficial injury of right shoulder, sequela”; S40.912S is “Unspecified superficial injury of left shoulder, sequela”.

Registry fact

Can these codes be reported together?

One side per condition.S40.911S and S40.912S name the same condition on opposite sides of the body. Same category and title, differing only in which side is affected — the documentation decides which one applies, and a bilateral code is reported only where the code set provides one.

MedCoder-derivedGuide: Laterality coding

Is there an Excludes1 relationship?

None.Neither entry carries an Excludes1 note that names the other code.

Official rule

Is there an Excludes2 relationship?

None.Neither entry carries an Excludes2 note that names the other code. S40.911S carries 4 Excludes2 notes and S40.912S carries 4 Excludes2 notes covering other codes; the side-by-side table quotes them.

Official rule

Is one more specific?

No.Both titles are unspecified forms within category S40, and neither is a subdivision of the other.

Registry fact

Is one a parent or header code?

No.Both are billable codes, and neither contains the other.

Registry fact

Are there sequencing instructions?

None.Neither entry carries a Code First or Use Additional Code note that names the other.

Official rule

Are there other coding relationships?

Yes.Same condition, opposite side. S40.911S and S40.912S name the same condition on opposite sides of the body.

MedCoder-derivedGuide: Laterality coding

Official rule: a tabular instructional note or a section of the ICD-10-CM Official Guidelines, quoted as published. Registry fact: the codes’ own published attributes (titles, billable status, position in the hierarchy, code set). MedCoder-derived: a reading MedCoder computes from those facts; it is not itself a rule.

Can these codes be reported together?

Review

Laterality relationship

S40.911S

Right

Unspecified superficial injury of right shoulder, sequela

↔

S40.912S

Left

Unspecified superficial injury of left shoulder, sequela

What we found

Same condition, opposite side.S40.911S and S40.912S name the same condition on opposite sides of the body.

Same category and title, differing only in which side is affected — the documentation decides which one applies, and a bilateral code is reported only where the code set provides one.

What to review

Report the side the documentation names. Where the code set provides a bilateral code and both sides are documented, use it instead of the pair.

Guide: Laterality coding Check these on a claim

Why it matters

These codes share a category and title and differ only in the side affected. The documentation decides which applies, and a bilateral code is reported only where the code set provides one.

Source / rule

ICD-10-CM tabular list (laterality variant derived from the code title)

Side by side

	S40.911SUnspecified superficial injury of right shoulder, sequela	S40.912SUnspecified superficial injury of left shoulder, sequela
Billing status	Billable	Billable
Classification	S00-T88 — Injury, Poisoning and Certain Other Consequences of External Causes (S00-T88)	S00-T88 — Injury, Poisoning and Certain Other Consequences of External Causes (S00-T88)
Definition	Unspecified superficial injury of right shoulder, sequela is a billable ICD-10-CM diagnosis code (S40.911S).	Unspecified superficial injury of left shoulder, sequela is a billable ICD-10-CM diagnosis code (S40.912S).
7th character	The appropriate 7th character is to be added to each code from category S40	The appropriate 7th character is to be added to each code from category S40
Includes	injuries of axilla injuries of scapular region	injuries of axilla injuries of scapular region
Excludes2	burns and corrosions (T20-T32) frostbite (T33-T34) injuries of elbow (S50-S59) insect bite or sting, venomous (T63.4)	burns and corrosions (T20-T32) frostbite (T33-T34) injuries of elbow (S50-S59) insect bite or sting, venomous (T63.4)

Notes are the code’s own tabular entry, quoted as published. A note that names the other code is the one the verdict above rests on.

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Derived from the official CMS ICD-10-CM tabular data (FY2026). A coding-rule comparison, not billing advice: payer-specific edits and medical-necessity policy are outside its scope. All data sources