An elderly woman suffered a potentially deadly chest wound when her daughter allegedly stabbed her with a large kitchen knife and punctured her lung, a court has heard.

A doctor said the mother, who suffered terminal lung disease and relied on an oxygen machine to breathe, could have died if doctors hadn't inserted a chest drain after she was taken to the emergency room in 2015. 

Mary Ivanisevic​ was charged after the alleged victim, then aged 74, was found curled on the floor of her Curtin home with a deep gash to her chest shortly after 1pm on December 6.

Ivanisevic, 45, has maintained her innocence, pleading not guilty to the crime and insisting her mother inflicted the wound herself.

Prosecutors argue the pair's relationship was volatile and Ivanisevic stabbed her mother before driving to a nearby service station, where she made sure her actions were captured on CCTV, in an effort to create a false alibi.

She drove home to find her mother still alive, allegedly causing her to yell "die" in exasperation, before she encountered a neighbour outside and called for help. 

The jury in her ACT Supreme Court trial has the option of finding her guilty of attempted murder, or the lesser charge of assault causing grievous bodily harm.

On Monday, the trial heard a recording of a triple-0 call made by a neighbour, who told the operator the woman had been stabbed in the left side of the upper chest with a large kitchen knife that was still inside the house.

"There is blood all the way up to the handle on it," the neighbour said.

Forensic medicine specialist Amanda Van Diemen gave evidence Ivanisevic's mother suffered a four centimetre-deep penetrating chest wound that penetrated her lung and caused it to start to deflate.

She said the injury could "possibly" have been fatal if doctors had not inserted a drain to take some of the air out of the woman's chest cavity. 

The court heard the alleged victim suffered terminal emphysema at the time and required home oxygen around the clock.

Dr Van Diemen said the woman's end-stage lung disease would have been "incredibly debilitating" and she was reliant on other people for everyday activities such as washing, cooking, cleaning and dressing.

She was also experiencing right-sided heart failure, chronic back pain, bipolar disorder and depression. 

The trial, before Justice Michael Elkaim, continues on Tuesday afternoon.