W10 vs W31
W10 (Fall on and from stairs and steps) compared with W31 (Contact with other and unspecified machinery), from the official CMS tabular data. Do not report these codes together: the official tabular list marks them Excludes1.
Can these codes be reported together?
No — do not report together. W10 carries an Excludes1 note covering W31: “fall (in) (from) machinery (in operation) (W28-W31)”
Sole exception: when the two conditions are documented as unrelated to each other (ICD-10-CM Official Guidelines, Section I.A.12.a).
Side by side
| W10Fall on and from stairs and steps | W31Contact with other and unspecified machinery | |
|---|---|---|
| Billing status | Non-billable header Report instead: W10.0XXA, W10.0XXD, W10.0XXS, W10.1XXA, W10.1XXD | Non-billable header Report instead: W31.0XXA, W31.0XXD, W31.0XXS, W31.1XXA, W31.1XXD |
| Classification | V00-Y99 — External Causes of Morbidity (V00-Y99) | V00-Y99 — External Causes of Morbidity (V00-Y99) |
| Definition | Fall on and from stairs and steps is a non-billable ICD-10-CM category code (W10). | Contact with other and unspecified machinery is a non-billable ICD-10-CM category code (W31). |
| 7th character | The appropriate 7th character is to be added to each code from category W10 | The appropriate 7th character is to be added to each code from category W31 |
Derived from the official CMS ICD-10-CM tabular data (FY2026). Not billing advice; verify sequencing rules for the encounter. All data sources