You Know, That Time You Were Bit By an Orca and Billed Insurance

I was on the phone with someone earlier this week who told me a strange fact: There is an ICD-10 code (i.e. medical billing) for “Bitten By an Orca: Initial Encounter.” I love every detail about this, because first of all, who has had this experience, really? It’s also so ominous. This is only the initial encounter. It sounds like there are more encounters to come. Will you survive? Will you have to bill insurance again?

And this made me curious about other strange ICD-10 codes. Here are some:

V0101XA: Pedestrian on Roller-Skates Injured in Collision with Pedal Cycle in Nontraffic Accident, Initial Encounter

V9431XA: Injury to Rider of (Inflatable) Recreational Watercraft Being Pulled Behind Other Watercraft, Initial Encounter

 V9733XA: Sucked into Jet Engine, Initial Encounter

 X52XXXA: Prolonged Stay in Weightless Environment, Initial Encounter

You couldn’t make these up, and yet, someone did!

—Renee Roederer