A construction contractor involved in an apartment development project is on the hook for a $15.5 million verdict to a member of a tree-removal crew who sustained electrical burns while on the job.

And the defendant, Vito Braccia Construction LLC, could have avoided the Oct. 28 verdict, according to plaintiffs attorneys at Saltz Mongeluzzi & Bendesky. They said the defendant should have agreed to tender the company's $2 million insurance policy limit.