4.  The applicant was born in 1968 and lives in Mezőtúr. 5.  In July 1988 the applicant had a road accident and suffered serious injuries resulting in permanent disability. On 7 January 1990 he brought an action in compensation before the Mezőtúr District Court against the company whose employee had caused the accident and an insurance company. 6.  On 30 May 1995 the District Court, after having held five hearings and obtained the opinions of various experts, found for the applicant and awarded him 1,000,000 Hungarian forints (HUF) (approximately 4,000 euros (EUR)) in compensation. On appeal, the Jász-Nagykun-Szolnok County Regional Court changed the first-instance decision and dismissed the applicant’s action on 4 February 1997. The applicant lodged a petition for review with the Supreme Court. On 16 November 1998 the Supreme Court dismissed his petition as time-barred, without an examination on the merits. 7.  In May 1999 the applicant requested the reopening of the proceedings. In September 1999 the District Court dismissed the applicant’s request. On appeal, the Regional Court changed the first-instance decision and ordered the reopening of the case in December 1999. 8.  In the reopened proceedings, the District Court upheld the Regional Court’s decision on 25 June 2002. The applicant appealed. The Regional Court reversed the District Court’s decision and found for the applicant. Concerning the amount of compensation, the Regional Court remitted the case to the first-instance court on 5 December 2002. 9.  In the resumed proceedings, the District Court on 30 July 2003 awarded the applicant HUF 450,000 (approximately 1,785 euros) in compensation. On appeal, on 11 November 2004 the Regional Court raised the amount to HUF 3,631,176 (approximately 14,408 euros) plus accrued interest and ordered the defendants to pay a monthly allowance of HUF 38,857 (approximately 154 euros) to the applicant. This decision was served on the applicant on 7 December 2004.