The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 10 letter word DOOM-LADEN
I've seen this crossword clue in Independent
D
O
O
M
-
L
A
D
E
N
More clues leading to the result DOOM-LADEN
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "apt to cause grief" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case apt to cause grief = doom-laden.The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.