diff --git a/healthcareio/x12/__init__.py b/healthcareio/x12/__init__.py
index 56a53f6..3c8e692 100644
--- a/healthcareio/x12/__init__.py
+++ b/healthcareio/x12/__init__.py
@@ -509,6 +509,7 @@ class Parser (Process):
         # section = section if section else config['SECTION']
         logs    = []
         claims  = []
+        _code = 'UNKNOWN'
         try:
             self.cache = {}
             file = open(filename.strip())