UW-Madison settled a lawsuit for $850 thousand Wednesday after a UW Lifesaving Station boat killed Yu Chen while he was windsurfing on Lake Mendota in 2017.
University spokesman John Lucas confirmed that a wrongful death lawsuit was settled on Nov. 1 with the Chen family and their attorney Jay Urban.
The lawsuit named both UW-Madison and the four crew members aboard as defendants. The crew members operating the the boat were found to have no criminal liability in the crash resulting in Chen’s death.
“This terrible tragedy should not have happened if the boaters paid attention that day, as they should have. We decided to settle with the State so that Yu’s elderly mom does not need to be tortured by having to go through lengthy litigation,” said Gang Chen, a family representative in a statement regarding the case.
The Chen family donated a bench to sit near Lake Mendota in memory of the late Yu Chen.
