A CAISTER grandmother has spoken of her relief now that a long-running battle to secure money from an American software firm has ended.

.

Audrey Hahn, 74, of Caister had been fighting to claim �340,000 in death in service benefits she believed her son Jonathan Hahn’s family were owed by Informatica.

Although she reached an out-of-court settlement for a smaller sum, she was pleased and relieved about the decision.

She said: “We were quite happy about the decision because it has been four years now, and it has been affecting my health – so we decided to accept the offer.”

She added: “When you lose your only son you need to have a time when you can mourn for him, and it has been terrible that we have not been able to do that because we have had to fight this legal battle.”

Mr Hahn died aged 42 on February 4, 2007 from a condition known as antitrypsin deficiency which attacks the blood and lungs, causing shortness of breath and asthma attacks.

The condition forced the former soldier to leave his job as a panel manager with Maidenhead-based Informatica in 2006.

However, Informatica’s insurer Canada Life initially refused to pay out, saying Mr Hahn should have told them about alcohol problems he had before entering the scheme.

The refusal prompted the long legal battle during which Mrs Hahn’s solicitor, Tony Bertin, said he did not have to disclose his previous medical history and Informatica was, therefore, obliged to pay out.

He added company life insurance was different to life insurance taken out by a family or individual, in that the former considered both good and bad risks.

The legal case was due to be heard at the High Court in London in November, but was settled out of court with the money going to Mr Hahn’s Thai-born second wife Suzie, and teenage daughter Jessica Hahn, who live in South Africa, to pay for schooling and a new home.