Driving a forklift in downtown Los Angeles to honour his wife's 50th birthday seemed like a good idea until Timothy Krehbiel drove over a guest’s foot.

According to Reuters, a US court has ruled that Krehbiel’s accident should have been covered by insurance.

In 2016, Jason Ashley sued Krehbiel and his company, seeking over USD1 million in damages, and the claim ended up with insurer Indian Harbor.

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals overturned an earlier ruling in favour of the AXA Assurance company affiliate, which used an insurance policy exclusion for injuries caused by stunts to avoid paying the initial claim.

The appeal court found the exclusion ambiguous since the policy did not define “stunting activity”.

“Krehbiel’s actions were clearly done to attract attention to his wife’s birthday celebration. Yet, it does not require much skill or daring to ride around on a slow-moving forklift that is dressed as a parade float,” according to the judges.

Regardless of the decision, forklift safety experts would have some strong advice for anyone planning a similar stunt: “Don’t!”