CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas—The son, daughter and mother of a man who allegedly contracted “parrot fever” from a cockatiel purchased at PetSmart are suing the national pet chain in a wrongful death lawsuit filed Tuesday in Nueces County state court.

Joe de la Garza was 63 when his daughter Amanda found him dead in 2006. Amanda de la Garza also contracted “parrot fever” or psittacosis, a bacterial infection transmitted by many species of birds, her attorney Ron Franklin said.

PetSmart spokeswoman Jennifer Ericsson said the lawsuit was the first they had heard from the de la Garzas since being informed in 2006 that they had retained a lawyer.

Ericsson said the company does not comment on pending litigation, but officials there were unaware of any cases where one of their birds transmitted psittacosis to a human.

“The risk of a person contracting psittacosis is unlikely, particularly when good hygiene practices are followed,” she said.

In December, the company suspended bird sales at its stores across the country after a psittacosis scare. Ericsson said that is a common procedure when a bird tests positive.

Less than three weeks after Amanda de la Garza bought the cockatiel in 2006, her father died and she became so ill as to be hospitalized, the lawsuit said.

“You ought to be able to buy a pet without threatening your life or killing your father,” Franklin said.