340.11 Liability insurance. - Ohio Statutes

340.11 Liability insurance.

(A) A board of alcohol, drug addiction, and mental health services may procure a policy or policies of insurance insuring board members or employees of the board or agencies with which the board contracts against liability arising from the performance of their official duties. If the liability insurance is unavailable or the amount a board has procured or is able to procure is insufficient to cover the amount of a claim, the board may indemnify a board member or employee as follows:

(1) For any action or inaction in his capacity as a board member or employee or at the request of the board, whether or not the action or inaction is expressly authorized by this or any other section of the Revised Code, if:

(a) The board member or employee acted in good faith and in a manner that he reasonably believed was in or was not opposed to the best interests of the board; and

(b) With respect to any criminal action or proceeding, the board member or employee had no reason to believe his conduct was unlawful.

(2) Against any expenses, including attorneys’ fees, the board member or employee actually and reasonably incurs as a result of a suit or other proceeding involving the defense of any action or inaction in his capacity as a board member or employee or at the request of the board, or in defense of any claim, issue, or matter raised in connection with the defense of such an action or inaction, to the extent that the board member or employee is successful on the merits or otherwise.

(B) The board may utilize up to that per cent of its budget as approved by the department of mental health to purchase insurance and to pool with funds of other boards of alcohol, drug addiction, and mental health services, as provided in division (E) of section 5119.62 of the Revised Code, to pay expenditures for utilization of state hospital facilities that exceed the amount allocated to the board under the formula developed under that section.

Effective Date: 10-10-1989