Newton physician Dr. Lafayette J. Twyner Jr. has filed a counterclaim in a civil suit asserting that he is not to blame for the March 2010 death of patient Roy E. Long II.

Twyner filed the suit in Jasper County District Court responding to a December 2011 claim by Long’s wife, Deserae Long, that he was negligent in his care of Roy Long, prescribing the patient narcotics that contributed to his death.

Last week’s filing is the latest chapter in civil court and legal investigations involving the Newton doctor, including a federal raid in April 2011 of the now closed Urgent Care Clinic. Criminal charges have never been brought against Twyner, however, and the doctor voluntarily relinquished his ability to prescribe narcotics last year. He faces a disciplinary hearing in front of the Iowa Board of Medicine scheduled for Wednesday.