The future career of 30 Rock star Tracy Morgan is in doubt after a car accident left the comedian with a brain injury, and killed a fellow comic.
The June crash occurred when a Walmart tractor-trailer slammed into Morgan's limo on his return from a stand-up show in Delaware and has since resulted in litigious debate between the supermarket giant and the 45-year-old comic.
While Walmart and Morgan's legal representatives have been in disagreement as to who was to blame for the accident, all eyes are now on whether Morgan will ever make it back to the stage and screen.
Asked if Morgan will ever perform again, his lawyer, Benedict Morelli, told Page Six: "The jury's still out."
"The doctors don't know the answer. I don't know the answer," he said.
Morgan is reportedly undergoing intensive physical and vocational therapy, while relying on a wheelchair and walker since the accident. He is not expected to be walking again for months.
In court papers filed on Monday, Walmart claimed Morgan's injuries were due to his "failure to properly wear an appropriate available seatbelt restraint device."
In response to Walmart's claim Morgan said in a statement that he could not believe the supermarket giant was blaming him.
"My friends and I were doing nothing wrong," said Morgan.
His lawyer publicly slammed the claim, referring to Walmart as "despicable."
"They knew that they changed these people's lives forever and killed somebody," said Morelli, who is also representing Morgan's fellow passengers in the accident Jeffrey Millea and Ardie Fuqua.
Morgan and the other plaintiffs - comedian Ardie Fuqua, Morgan's assistant, Jeffrey Millea and Millea's wife, Krista Millea - claimed in their July 10 lawsuit that Walmart knew or should have known its truck driver, Kevin Roper, had been awake for more than 24 hours before the crash and should not have been on the road.
Roper was driving about 20 miles per hour (32 km per hour) over the speed limit just before the crash, according to federal investigators. He has pleaded not guilty to charges of vehicular homicide and assault-by-auto.
Walmart issued a follow-up statement saying they were taking steps to encourage settlement discussions.
Morgan has reportedly had to turn down several job opportunities as a result of the accident, such as his new show for the currently unnamed FXX cable series, which was put on hold in June.
Morelli recently told People that Morgan had a long way to go in his recovery.
"When you say someone is a stand-up comedian, they need to stand up. It's very rigorous to do that," he said.
"You need to have two things: You have to have a very strong body and stamina. And right now, he doesn't have Tracy Morgan stamina."
- with Reuters
