Struck by other marine mammals, initial encounter

This code signifies an injury sustained when a patient is struck by a marine mammal other than a dolphin, sea lion, or orca. This includes incidents involving animals such as whales, seals (excluding sea lions), manatees, or walruses. The "initial encounter" indicates the patient is receiving active treatment for the injury.

Apply this code when documenting injuries resulting from direct physical contact with a non-specified marine mammal. Examples include a person being hit by a whale's fluke, a seal bumping into a swimmer causing injury, or a manatee colliding with a boat occupant. This code is appropriate for the initial phase of treatment for such an injury.

• Always assign an external cause code (V00-Y99) in conjunction with this code to fully describe the circumstances of the injury.
• Ensure the documentation clearly specifies a marine mammal other than a dolphin, sea lion, or orca. If the specific marine mammal is known and has a more precise code, use that instead.
• Confirm the encounter is indeed the "initial" one for active treatment; subsequent encounters for follow-up care would use different seventh characters.