Chances are high that comedian Tracy Morgan might never be the same person that fans remember, as he is still struggling to recover from the brain injury caused by an accident in June, his lawyer said.
The former "Saturday Night Live" star suffered injuries to his leg and ribs in addition to the brain in the 7 June accident on the New Jersey Turnpike when a Walmart truck slammed into the limo van that was carrying Morgan and his friends.
"He's fighting to get better, and if there's a chance for him to be back to the Tracy Morgan he once was, he's going to try to do that," Benedict Morelli said, according to The Hollywood Reporter. "But we just don't know because of the severity of the injuries that he sustained and the fact that he had such a severe brain injury."
Morelli noted that it was too soon to say if Morgan was going to make a complete recovery, but said that the comedian was trying to get better. The 46-year-old actor is reportedly undergoing rehab to work on daily speech, cognitive, vocational and physical therapies.
"When you have a traumatic brain injury it takes a very long time to find out how you're going to do and how much you're going to recover," Morelli said. "You just don't know. So that's where he is. He's still fighting and trying to live his life at the same time and trying to get better, and he's just not better. We're hoping and praying to get him back to where he was. But the jury's out."
Morgan's future is uncertain, and this has already cost him projects. In April, FXX had ordered 10 episodes of an untitled Tracy Morgan project, which was set for a 2015 premiere. Production was supposed to start in August, but it was put on hold after the accident.
In late September, Morgan sued Walmart for punitive and compensatory damages, and in response the retail corporation contended the victims' injuries were partly because they weren't wearing seatbelts.