Ever been to the running of the bulls in Spain? Well here in the US we have our own running of the bulls that many of you may not have even heard about. Let me present you with our own homegrown running of the bulls.
Here’s a video that highlights Black Friday shopping stampedes by shoppers.
Often, this holiday shopping witnesses many accidents and injuries, as plenty of people rush together to score great deals on all sorts of consumer items. This busiest shopping day of the year may also keep emergency departments busy, as the physicians here have to deal with all sorts of injuries happening during the day. So, medical claim submission for services provided also becomes important. ERs, orthopedic doctors, or other physicians treating shopping injuries can take support from professional medical billing and coding companies to submit their claims on time to payers. Such companies will be up-to-date with the changing diagnosis and procedure codes and billing guidelines.
Shopping accidents can lead to contusions, lacerations, dislocations, traumatic brain injuries, crush injuries, post-shopping car accidents, pepper spray injuries, slip and falls, heart attacks, and parking lot accidents among others. Orthopedic injuries such as broken bones, sprains and strains are also common after this holiday shopping and gatherings. Serious slips or trips may result in – cuts if it occurs near sharp objects, back injuries, or burns if falls occur near hot surfaces. Most of these injuries can have serious consequences as well.
ICD-10 Codes for Black Friday Shopping Injuries
- W52 Crushed, pushed or stepped on by crowd or human stampede
- W01 Fall on same level from slipping, tripping and stumbling
- W03 Other fall on same level due to collision with another person
- W10 Fall on and from stairs and steps
- W17.82 Fall from (out of) grocery cart
- W18.02 Striking against glass with subsequent fall
- W22 Striking against or struck by other objects
- X99.9 Assault by unspecified sharp object
- Y01 Assault by pushing from high place
- Y04 Assault by bodily force
- Y04.0 Assault by unarmed brawl or fight
- Y92.513 Shop (commercial) as the place of occurrence of the external cause
- Y92.481 Parking lot as the place of occurrence of the external cause
- I11 Hypertensive heart disease
- R09.01 Asphyxia
- S07 Crushing injury of head
- S90.3 Contusion of foot
- S67 Crushing injury of wrist, hand and fingers
- M24.4 Recurrent dislocation of joint
- T84.01 Broken internal joint prosthesis
Black Friday-related injuries and deaths are mainly caused by human stampedes, shootings, brawls, post-shopping car accidents, stabbings, fist fights, pepper spray injuries, slips, trips and falls, robbery, injuries involving shopping carts, boxes and heavy products falling, fights and arguments, shootings, stabbings, and brawls. Many are also injured because of the lack of sleep involved in the whole process. For instance, car accidents occur due to driver falling asleep after a long day of shopping. According to a report from The Hustle, the majority of Black Friday incidents (69%) occur inside of retail stores, where shoppers battle over limited supplies of goods.
It often happens that the customers even wait for long hours at the entrance of the store to grab discounts and attractive Black Friday deals. Being a medical coding company experienced in reporting Black Friday injuries each year, we know that it is vital for stores and shops to take necessary precautions against spillages such as not letting people in when the floor is wet, putting appropriate signs in place and thus preventing slips and falls. Black Friday injuries often rise from disagreements or fights breaking out among shoppers. Injuries due to crowd crushes can even lead to more serious conditions including asphyxia, heart attack, and traumatic injuries to the head, chest or internal organs.
Attach more importance to safety in your holiday list this year. It is safe to do more shopping online than in-store. Another option is to plan for shopping ahead of time.
Happy Holidays! Stay Safe!