A seven-figure car insurance claim is to be heard by the High Court in London, the Oxford Mail reports.
Anthony Gleeson, a 21-year-old from Abingdon, Oxfordshire, suffered severe and permanent nerve damage from injuries sustained in a drink-driving crash in October 2005.
The student was in the car boot of an overloaded Ford Fiesta as its driver, Ian Court, ferried a group of his friends back from a nightclub in the early hours of the morning.
Having hit a kerb and spun out of control in an accident so violent that three passengers were thrown clear from the vehicle, Mr Court was later found by police to have been driving while drunk.
The compensation is being sought by Mr Gleeson from Mr Court's car insurance provider, who remains un-named.
At a preliminary hearing, the judge, Mr Justice Calvert-Smith, said that the accident occurred "as a result of Mr Court's misguided decision to drive home while drunk from a club."
Mr Gleeson's case highlights still further the perils of drink-driving, particularly high in young men.
According to the Department for Transport's recently-released road accident report for 2006, total fatalities in drink-driving accidents stood at 540 for the year.
A total of 14,350 road casualties were caused by alcohol - six per cent of the overall figure.
The car insurance claim will be fully heard in court on October 15th.
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