A Newton woman’s civil lawsuit against former Newton physician Lafayette J. Twyner Jr. over the March 2010 death of her husband has been dismissed, as has a counterclaim by Twyner that she provided negligent care that resulted in the death of Roy E. Long II.
The suit was dismissed in District Court on Sept. 19, through attorney Dennis F. Chalupa of Caldwell and Brierly P.L.L.C.
The suit was dismissed with prejudice, meaning it cannot be brought back to court in any form.
Deserae Long filed suit in Jasper County District Court in December of last year. Attorneys for Twyner filed a counterclaim in June that it was Long’s negligent care, not the overprescribing of the painkiller hydrocodone, that led to Roy Long’s death.
Twyner’s former clinic, Urgent Care, also has been under a months-long federal investigation after local and federal agents raided the facility in April of last year. No criminal charges have been brought against Twyner.
However, in July, he surrendered his license to practice medicine in Iowa following an investigation by the Iowa Board of Medicine. The board cited him for “engaging in a pattern of willful and repeated violations of the laws and rules governing the practice of medicine in Iowa, placing patients at risk or serious harm, when he prescribed excessive controlled substances to numerous patients, including patients with known drug abuse histories.”
As part of a settlement agreement with the Board of Medicine, Twyner voluntarily surrendered his license, waiving his right to a contested-case hearing. He also must pay a $10,000 civil penalty.