Taxpayers could face huge payout to Williams family

The Victorian government may be liable to pay a huge amount in compensation for the death of gangland killer Carl Williams, a legal group says.

The underworld figure's 9-year-old daughter could have a case to sue prison authorities for damages for failing to prevent his slaying, according to Greg Barns of the Australian Lawyers Alliance.

Williams was brutally bashed to death with an exercise bike part in the most secure area of the high-security Barwon Prison on Monday.

Claims later emerged that nearly 25 minutes elapsed before prison guards discovered the critically injured Williams. But officials are refusing to comment until an internal investigation is complete.

Mr Barns says prisons have a legal duty of care for the protection and safety of all inmates.

If the prison was aware that Williams was at risk or under threat and nothing was done to mitigate that risk, then his family could have a legal case against it, he said.

"The court would need to look at whatever systems were put in place to mitigate the risk of something occurring," he told AAP on Thursday.

"The fact that there is a prison assault or death doesn't necessarily mean they are liable, but it depends if you can prove if there was a breach of duty of care."

Damages in the potential lawsuit could be increased if the time lag in providing medical treatment for Williams is true, he said.

"These are all questions that we need answers to."

Williams' daughter is the person most likely to able to sue as she would have suffered the most damages from his death.

While no estimate is available of what she'd be legally entitled to receive, a lawsuit over a 2005 prison assault in NSW ended recently with a six-figure government payout.

The Victorian government has also been settling school bullying cases for huge sums of money, including one case where a 17-year-old bullying victim received nearly A$300,000 ($392,706).

- AAP