Hughes passed away on Thursday aged just 25 after failing to recover from an injury sustained when he was struck on the neck by a short delivery from New South Wales bowler Abbott in a Sheffield Shield game two days earlier.
Ex-paceman Lawrence hit Phil Simmons on the head with a bouncer back in 1988, but the West Indies batsman made a full recovery after undergoing brain surgery.
Lawrence has expressed his sympathy for Abbott and doubts that the 22-year-old will continue his career following the incident at the Sydney Cricket Ground.
"I know what Sean is going through," he told BBC Radio 5 live
"My thoughts go out to him as well - because whether he will come back from this or not, personally I don't think he'll play cricket again.
"When you turn and run in to bowl again, you are just going to have those images in your head. Will he ever be the same bowler again? I don't know.
"What gave me comfort was I was able to see Phil Simmons 48 hours after, and he was able to tell me it wasn't my fault.
"The bowler in this instance wouldn't have been able to do that. Hughes didn't make a recovery, wasn't able to talk to him."