A UC Berkeley alumna has filed a negligence and personal injury complaint against the UC Regents, alleging that a sailing instructor at the UC Aquatic Center told her to jump onto a dock during rough water conditions, causing her to fall and injure her shoulder and legs. Zhe Fu is seeking more than $35,000 in compensation, saying she had no prior sailing experience and received no safety training before the incident in September 2024.
According to The Daily Californian, Fu waited about an hour before she was even assigned to a boat during the class, which was organized by UC Berkeley Recreation & Wellbeing at the UC Aquatic Center, located at 124 A University Avenue along the Berkeley Marina according to UC Berkeley Recreation & Wellbeing. Jeremy Pollack described the process of assigning students to instructors and boats as chaotic and unorganized, and alleged that students received no training or guidance before being assigned to a boat or after boarding, per the Daily Cal's reporting.
The complaint alleges that once on the water, the instructor struggled to dock the boat in rough conditions and asked Fu to jump onto another boat during an initial docking attempt. Fu declined, saying she felt unsafe. During a second docking attempt, the instructor told her to jump — and she fell on the dock after jumping and slipping, injuring her shoulder and legs, the paper reports. No staff were on the dock to assist her, and no medical personnel were on site; a friend ultimately helped her reach the emergency department.
Attorney Points to Weather and Beginner Status
Fu is represented by Carter Zinn, owner of The Zinn Law Firm, who has practiced personal injury and medical malpractice law in Northern California since 1999 after graduating from UC Berkeley School of Law. Zinn said the instructor should have considered the weather conditions and that beginners should not have been taken onto the water if conditions were unsafe, adding that unsafe sailing conditions should have led to an activity on land instead, according to the Daily Cal's account.
The sailing program at the UC Aquatic Center typically uses 17-foot RS Venture centerboard sloops for beginner and introductory courses, according to Latitude 38. That outlet notes that standard introductory classes are structured to begin with a land-based session covering rigging and terminology before moving onto the water with an instructor at the helm. The waters directly south of the Berkeley Marina, where the classes operate, are also subject to strong Bay currents and direct wind exposure coming through the Golden Gate, the sailing publication notes — conditions that can shift rapidly during instruction.
Settlement Talks Broke Down Before Filing
Before filing the complaint, the Zinn Law Firm sent a demand letter to a risk adjuster representing the UC Regents seeking settlement discussions. That risk adjuster told the attorneys to file a complaint instead of discussing settlement, according to the Daily Cal. Fu went on to file her complaint on September 28, with Jeremy Pollack saying the injury had a significant impact on her life; Fu's attorneys declined to disclose details about her current physical condition.
UC Berkeley spokesperson Janet Gilmore said the campus had not been formally served with the complaint as of the Daily Cal's reporting, and that the university will address the matter through the legal process. The Board of Regents of the University of California is the constitutional corporate entity that manages liability claims and funds settlements across UC campuses and university-operated facilities, a role Hoodline has previously detailed in coverage of other claims against the system.
Legal Hurdles Facing the Claim
California courts generally apply the doctrine of primary assumption of risk, established in Knight v. Jewett, which shields recreational activity organizers and co-participants from ordinary negligence claims tied to hazards inherent to a sport, according to TORKLAW. But that protection does not apply if an instructor or venue operator increases the inherent risks of an activity or engages in gross negligence, defined as an extreme departure from ordinary care, per Advocate Magazine.
Because the UC Regents is a public entity, Fu's legal team also had to navigate California's Government Claims Act, which generally requires personal injury claimants suing public entities to present a formal written administrative claim within six months of the injury date before filing a lawsuit in court, according to Impact Attorneys. It remains to be seen whether the Regents will raise either defense once formally served. The UC Aquatic Center operates adjacent to the Cal Sailing Club, an independent, non-profit volunteer organization not affiliated with or governed by the University of California, according to the Cal Sailing Club — a distinction worth noting given how often the two neighboring waterfront operations are confused.
