E978Legal execution
- Legacy / Not Valid for Submission
- Retired October 1, 2015
- External Cause (E Code)
E978 is a legacy ICD-9-CM external cause code (E code) that described legal execution. It was valid on U.S. claims through September 30, 2015 and cannot be reported for services on or after October 1, 2015, when ICD-10-CM replaced the ICD-9 code set. CMS assigns no direct ICD-10-CM equivalent for this code (a No Map flag in the General Equivalence Mappings), so the closest current code must be chosen from the clinical documentation.
Code Identity
ICD-10-CM Replacement
CMS did not link E978 to any ICD-10-CM code in the General Equivalence Mappings.
Questions About E978
Is E978 (legal execution) still a valid code?
No. This code belonged to ICD-9-CM, which the United States retired after September 30, 2015. Claims with dates of service on or after October 1, 2015 must use ICD-10-CM codes.
Why does E978 have no ICD-10 equivalent?
CMS marks this code with a No Map flag in the General Equivalence Mappings: no single ICD-10-CM code corresponds to legal execution. To code the same situation today, choose the closest current code from the clinical documentation.
What did E978 mean?
In the final ICD-9-CM release, this code described legal execution. It sat in block E978 Legal execution under External causes of injury (V).
