Electrical Injury S022

Current RMA Instruments

Changes from previous Instruments

ICD Coding

• ICD-10-AM Codes: T75.0, T75.4

Brief description

Electrical injury refers to physical damage caused by an electric current passing through the body or going across the body surface. This can occur as a result of a person coming into contact with an electrical energy source. 

This SOP covers both the effects of lightning, and injury due to electric shock/electrocution from a man-made source.

Confirming the diagnosis

This diagnosis is made based on the history and clinical manifestations and can be made by any treating doctor.

The relevant medical specialist is a general or emergency physician.

Additional diagnoses covered by SOP

• Electric current injury from implanted pacemakers, defibrillators, and spinal stimulators
• Electric shock due to alternating or direct current
• Electrical burns
• Electrocution
• Electrical contact burns
• Electrical flash burns 
• Injury from lightning ground potential rise
• Injury from lightning side flashes
• Injury from lightning strike

Conditions excluded from SOP

• Acoustic trauma* or barotrauma* arising from high voltage arcing / thunder
• Claimed effects of electric or magnetic field radiation (most likely that disease or injury is unrelated to such exposure)
• Claimed injury from electrostatic currents

* another SOP applies

Clinical onset

Clinical onset will generally be at the time of injury (exposure to electric current).  Although the relevant injuries occur at the time of the exposure they may not become clinically apparent until hours or up to some days later.

Clinical worsening

The only worsening factor is for inability to obtain appropriate clinical management. Any such inability would generally relate to treatment in the immediate aftermath of the injury.