The lawyer for Emily Willis says the former adult star has permanent brain damage and has been unable to speak or move since being found unconscious at a Malibu rehabilitation facility early last year.

“It’s a horrible existence,” James Arthur Morris Jr. said. “Imagine being locked in your own body. You’re in a jail you can’t escape.”

Morris spoke with PornCrush Saturday after news surfaced that Willis’ mother is suing the rehab center that was treating Willis when her health spiraled.

Filed earlier this month in Los Angeles Superior Court, the lawsuit accuses Summit Malibu of Dependent Adult Abuse, Professional Negligence Negligence, and Unlawful, Unfair, or Fraudulent Business Practices.

Morris alleges Malibu Summit’s staff erred by not recognizing that the 5-foot-7 Willis required immediate hospitalization when she arrived at the facility on Jan 27, weighing just 100 pounds and seeking treatment for anorexia.

“She was in the danger zone the moment she walked through the doors,” Morris said. “She needed very, very intense medical treatment. They didn’t diagnose that upon entry, nor did they monitor carefully enough how quickly she was digressing.”

According to the lawsuit, Willis was disoriented, disheveled, and struggling to walk just days after her arrival. In their notes, doctors used words such as “distressed,”” nervous,” and “anxious” to describe Willis’ mood. Willis was barely eating, they said and was so dehydrated on Feb. 2 that nurses were unable to obtain her blood pressure.

Willis declined the staff’s recommendation to transport her to a hospital. She was defiant again the following afternoon when paramedics were summoned to take her vitals and assess her condition.

One day later, on Feb. 4, Willis was found unconscious in her room. According to the lawsuit, nurses and paramedics performed CPR for more than 30 minutes before finally detecting a pulse. Willis was then rushed to Los Robles Hospital in Thousand Oaks. She’s been incapacitated ever since.

“They should’ve transferred her to a hospital earlier and let the doctors put a feeding tube in her and treat her properly while she was still (coherent) and speaking and walking,” Morris said. “Instead, they allowed her to have a say in her medical treatment, which is not what you do with somebody who is in severe health danger. She was in a very brittle place.”

Willis remained hospitalized in California until late spring when she was transferred to a facility in her native Utah. She can track movements with her eyes, but Morris said it’s unclear whether she’s in tune with her surroundings.

“We don’t know the full extent of her condition or her awareness,” Morris said. "She is not in a state to do much of anything. She just lays in a bed. What her future will be, I’m not sure.”

The lawsuit seeks an unspecified amount of damages. Morris said Willis’ medical bills have surpassed $2 million. Her brother and father-in-law live visit along with her mother, who is her primary caretaker.

“She spends her whole life taking care of her child now,” Morris said. “She’s being incredibly brave and devoted by doing what she’s doing.

“Her mom is probably the reason Emily is still with us. She’s being extremely proactive in making sure she’s cared for properly.”

Willis turned 26 last month. From 2017-2022 she was one of the adult industry’s biggest stars. Willis won 13 AVN awards during the height of her popularity from 2020-22, including nine in 2021, when she was named Female Performer of the Year.

Despite her success, Willis often battled personal demons. She began experimenting with ketamine late in her career and became addicted to the drug after stepping away from porn in 2022.

According to the lawsuit, Willis had been ingesting five to six grams of ketamine per day for a year before she checked into Malibu Summit. As a result, she experienced bladder inflammation and night terrors and had suffered loss of bladder incontinence since 2022.

Morris, though, said Willis had stopped using ketamine shortly before entering Malibu Summit. Instead it was an eating disorder—“severe anorexia,” he said—that caused her to seek help.

“At that point she has resolved herself not to do ketamine again,” Morris said. “She had gotten off of it in the past and she was determined to do it again.

“The reason she was at Summit Malibu was because she wanted to be in a safe place and away from additional drug opportunities, because sometimes those things will present themselves if you’re not in a confined place where they’ll take good care of you and you’re not exposing yourself to what has contributed to your demise.”

According to the lawsuit, Willis tested negative for all drugs when she checked in and also multiple times during her stay.

Still, Willis was not in good health. She had barely been eating, was losing weight rapidly and had been struggling mentally.

“She needed treatment immediately,” Morris said. “They should’ve made the decision the minute she walked into their facility. They should’ve said, ‘This looks like a very serious medical condition you have. We need to get you over to the hospital.’ That’s what should’ve happened. Unfortunately it didn’t.”

On Jan. 30 a psychiatrist at Malibu Summit diagnosed Willis with “severe hallucinogen disorder” and “anxiety disorder” and prescribed her an antidepressant. Doctor’s notes from the following day said that Willis was “anxious, distressed, barely eating, not showering or getting dressed and was experiencing aches, tremors, spasms and weakness.” She was also being treated for a UTI.

“They just didn’t give her the adequate treatment that their contract requires them to give,” Morris said. “Unfortunately, she had a very, very bad episode that left her in the state that she’s in right now.”

Morris said he’s still awaiting medical records that may indicate why Willis collapsed on Feb. 4. Staff members were unable to determine how long she’d been unconscious before she was discovered.

“I think her internal organs probably shut down due the anorexia and the fact that she wasn’t being fed,” he said. “(Doctors) are going to say that when she crashed, and had the respiratory problem, and was not able to breath on her own … at that point, she may have lost some amount of brain activity. There’s only so much time that can pass before it has a permanent impact.”

Morris said he plans to depose multiple employees from Malibu Summit as the case moves forward. Meanwhile, Willis’ family will continue to stay by her side. Morris said Willis requires 24-hour care.

“It’s a very sad story,” he said. “Her family is devastated for her individually, for the nightmare that she’s having to live through right now.”