W12 vs W31
W12 (Fall on and from scaffolding) 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. W12 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
| W12Fall on and from scaffolding | W31Contact with other and unspecified machinery | |
|---|---|---|
| Billing status | Non-billable header | 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 scaffolding is a non-billable ICD-10-CM category code (W12). | 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 code W12 | 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