Brittany Murphy's Cause Of Death Questioned By Family - Lawsuit Filed Against Coroner's Office

A lawsuit against the Los Angeles County Coroner's office could launch further investigation into actress Brittany Murphy's sudden 2009 death, The Huffington Post and Radar Online report.

The "Don't Say a Word," "Clueless" and "Sin City" star was found collapsed in her Hollywood Hills home on Dec. 20, 2009 and later declared dead due to complications from pneumonia, prescription drug intoxication and anemia. Angelo Bertolotti, Murphy's father, has filed suit against the office in order to access hair samples in the coroner's possession that might verify or debunk the claim.

Five months after Murphy's death, her husband Simon Monjack - who discovered her body - died from an eerily similar cause.

Sharon Murphy, Brittany's mother, took her skepticism about her daughter's death public last month. She sued her former attorneys for legal malpractice when they recommended she settle a lawsuit against the makers of the family's home detailing how she believed the allergic reactions that caused Murphy's and her husband's deaths were brought about on by mold growing within the home.

"It is unusual to have two people die of similar circumstances with pneumonia. We've been looking at it and saying, 'Something isn't right,'" Los Angeles County assistant chief coroner Ed Winter told ABC News. "I'm not saying you cant' get pneumonia from mold, but we did all the tests on it - mold did not come up in the toxicology reports."

Mold exposure can cause asthma attacks and pneumonia due to toxins called mycotoxins, especially in individuals with weakened immune systems, the Illinois Department of Health reported. However, the department said, reactions leading to pneumonia aren't common.