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Compare/W31 vs W50

W31 vs W50

W31 (Contact with other and unspecified machinery) compared with W50 (Accidental hit, strike, kick, twist, bite or scratch by another person), 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. W31 carries an Excludes1 note covering W50: “contact or collision with animals or persons (W50-W64)”

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

W31Contact with other and unspecified machineryW50Accidental hit, strike, kick, twist, bite or scratch by another person
Billing statusNon-billable header

Report instead: W31.0XXA, W31.0XXD, W31.0XXS, W31.1XXA, W31.1XXD

Non-billable header

Report instead: W50.0XXA, W50.0XXD, W50.0XXS, W50.1XXA, W50.1XXD

ClassificationV00-Y99 — External Causes of Morbidity (V00-Y99)V00-Y99 — External Causes of Morbidity (V00-Y99)
DefinitionContact with other and unspecified machinery is a non-billable ICD-10-CM category code (W31).Accidental hit, strike, kick, twist, bite or scratch by another person is a non-billable ICD-10-CM category code (W50).
7th characterThe appropriate 7th character is to be added to each code from category W31The appropriate 7th character is to be added to each code from category W50
Includes
hit, strike, kick, twist, bite, or scratch by another person NOS

Derived from the official CMS ICD-10-CM tabular data (FY2026). Not billing advice; verify sequencing rules for the encounter. All data sources