F40.233
BillableFear of injury
HCC Category Mapping
RxHCCHCC 133 — Personality Disorders, Anxiety, and Other Specified Mental Disorders
0.000What This Code Means
An intense fear of being injured that causes anxiety and avoidance of activities with injury risk.
Coding Tips
- •This is a blood-injection-injury type phobia
- •Document specific injury fears (broken bones, cuts, accidents) and resulting behavioral avoidance
Clinical Significance
Fear of injury is a blood-injection-injury subtype phobia involving intense, irrational fear of sustaining bodily harm. This phobia can lead to excessive avoidance of physical activities, sports, driving, or any situation perceived as potentially injurious. It may significantly restrict daily functioning and quality of life.
Documentation Requirements
- ✓Marked fear or anxiety about sustaining injury
- ✓Fear is disproportionate to actual risk of injury in feared situations
- ✓Consistent avoidance of activities or situations perceived as dangerous
- ✓Duration of 6+ months
- ✓Functional impairment (reduced physical activity, social isolation, occupational limitations)
- ✓Current treatment plan
Commonly Confused Codes
F40.230 (Fear of blood) — Blood phobia is about seeing blood; injury phobia is about the prospect of bodily harmF43.10 (Post-traumatic stress disorder, unspecified) — PTSD may include fear of re-injury after trauma but involves re-experiencing, avoidance, and hyperarousal symptomsF40.298 (Other specified phobia) — Use F40.233 specifically when fear of injury is the phobic stimulus