§ 2317 Expert Witness Legal Protection

If a person, not a regular employee of the board, is hired, under contract, or retained under any other arrangement, paid or unpaid, to provide expertise or nonexpert testimony to the Medical Board of California or to the California Board of Podiatric Medicine, including, but not limited to, the evaluation of the conduct of an applicant or a licensee, and that person is named as a defendant in an action for defamation, malicious prosecution, or any other civil cause of action directly resulting from opinions rendered, statements made, or testimony given to, or on behalf of, the committee or its representatives, the board shall provide for representation required to defend the defendant in that civil action. The board shall be liable for any judgment rendered against that person, except that the board shall not be liable for any punitive damages award. If the plaintiff prevails in a claim for punitive damages, the defendant shall be liable to the board for the full costs incurred in providing representation to the defendant. The Attorney General shall be utilized in those actions as provided in Section 2020. (Amended by Stats. 2007, Ch. 678, Sec. 22. Effective January 1, 2008.)