Kris,
Yes, I have seen some of them fail. I have taken apart rear hub bolts with my fingers after they have been run hard and pounded out the shims, washers, and lock tabs. I have even seen some cars that were put together with thin 0.002 inch shims to get the preload right--that pounded out and literally broke apart under the loading. Very nasty little 0.002 inch pieces of shim were running in the bearings.
All of that material that was gouged off of the surface of the bearing shim I showed in the above pictures had to go somewhere. It went into the rear bearings. At best you could hope for a ruined bearing and the time and wits to catch it before something more expensive (or worse) happened. Look at any modern car that bolts the axle through the hub bearing. No one uses a locking tab under the nut any more. (They all use lock nuts, however.)
David
