What is the test for determining whether a doctor is liable for a patient’s medical malpractice?

Medical professionals are to be judged in light of the knowledge that they ought reasonably to possess at the time of the alleged act of negligence. A doctor will not be found liable if the patient’s treatment accords with the recognized medical standards at the time, even in the face of competing authorities. As expressed in Lapointe v. Hôpital Le Gardeur[30]: The courts do not have jurisdiction to settle scientific disputes or to choose among divergent opinions of physicians on certain subjects. They may only make a finding of fault where a violation of universally accepted rules in medicine has occurred. The courts should not involve themselves in controversial questions of assessment having to do with diagnosis or the treatment of preference.