Assault by hunting rifle, initial encounter

This code describes an injury resulting from an intentional act of violence where a hunting rifle was used as the weapon. It specifically indicates that this is the first time the patient is being treated for this particular injury. The nature of the injury itself would be coded separately.

This code is appropriate for documenting the external cause of an injury when a patient presents for initial treatment after being assaulted with a hunting rifle. This includes emergency department visits, initial hospital admissions, or first outpatient encounters for such an event. It should be used in conjunction with codes describing the specific bodily injury sustained.

• Always sequence this external cause code after the primary injury code.
• Ensure the seventh character "A" (initial encounter) is correctly applied for the first time the patient receives active treatment for the injury.
• Verify the weapon used was specifically a "hunting rifle" to differentiate from other firearm types.