W16.21 vs W18.2XXD
W16.21 (Fall in (into) filled bathtub) compared with W18.2XXD (Fall in (into) shower or empty bathtub, subsequent encounter), 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 W18.2XXD: “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. W18.2XXD 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 | W18.2XXDFall in (into) shower or empty bathtub, subsequent encounter | |
|---|---|---|
| Billing status | Non-billable header Report instead: W16.211A, W16.211D, W16.211S, W16.212A, W16.212D | Billable |
| 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, subsequent encounter is a billable ICD-10-CM diagnosis code (W18.2D). |
| 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