W16.21 vs W18.2
W16.21 (Fall in (into) filled bathtub) compared with W18.2 (Fall in (into) shower or empty bathtub), 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. W16.21 carries an Excludes1 note covering W18.2: “fall into empty bathtub (W18.2)”
Sole exception: when the two conditions are documented as unrelated to each other (ICD-10-CM Official Guidelines, Section I.A.12.a).
No — do not report together. W18.2 carries an Excludes1 note covering W16.21: “fall in full bathtub causing drowning or submersion (W16.21-)”
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
| W16.21Fall in (into) filled bathtub | W18.2Fall in (into) shower or empty bathtub | |
|---|---|---|
| Billing status | Non-billable header Report instead: W16.211A, W16.211D, W16.211S, W16.212A, W16.212D | Non-billable header |
| Classification | V00-Y99 — External Causes of Morbidity (V00-Y99) | V00-Y99 — External Causes of Morbidity (V00-Y99) |
| Definition | Fall in (into) filled bathtub is a non-billable ICD-10-CM category code (W16.21). | Fall in (into) shower or empty bathtub is a non-billable ICD-10-CM category code (W18.2). |
| 7th character | The appropriate 7th character is to be added to each code from category W16 | The appropriate 7th character is to be added to each code from category W18 |
Derived from the official CMS ICD-10-CM tabular data (FY2026). Not billing advice; verify sequencing rules for the encounter. All data sources