ICD-10-CM › V00-Y99 › W50-W64 › W50 Accidental hit, strike, kick,... › W50.4

W50.4

Accidental scratch by another person

Not billableICD-10-CM diagnosis code.

This code exists but cannot be submitted on its own. It groups the more specific codes beneath it.

A category header for its whole life, FY2016 onwards. It has never been valid for submission on its own.

Submit one of these 3 more specific codes instead:

  • W50.4XXA Accidental scratch by another person, initial encounter
  • W50.4XXD Accidental scratch by another person, subsequent encounter
  • W50.4XXS Accidental scratch by another person, sequela

This code requires a seventh character. See the rule below.

What has happened to this code

Every change the publisher made, from 2014 to now. Entries marked draft are from the pre-implementation releases: ICD-10 took effect on 1 October 2015, so nothing before FY2016 was ever valid on a claim.

  1. FY2014 Added to the draft code set draft Accidental scratch by another person

Official coding rules

Published by CDC for FY2027. A rule attached to a category binds every code beneath it, so the rules inherited from this code's ancestors are shown with the code they come from.

Inherited from W50 Accidental hit, strike, kick, twist, bite or scratch by another person

Seventh character required

  • The appropriate 7th character is to be added to each code from category W50

Excludes1 - never coded here

  • assault by bodily force (Y04)
  • struck by objects (W20-W22)

Includes

  • hit, strike, kick, twist, bite, or scratch by another person NOS

Inherited from the W50-W64 section Exposure to animate mechanical forces (W50-W64)

Excludes1 - never coded here

  • Toxic effect of contact with venomous animals and plants (T63.-)

How CDC's index refers to this code

Wording from the official alphabetic index. Much of it appears nowhere in the code description, which is why a search for the everyday phrase so often finds nothing.

Codes in the same group

CodeDescriptionStatus
W50.0 Accidental hit or strike by another person Not billable
W50.1 Accidental kick by another person Not billable
W50.2 Accidental twist by another person Not billable
W50.3 Accidental bite by another person Not billable