I haven't had a catastrophic failure with a cast Ballard frame, but the largest cartridge I fire in one is the .32-20.  The most typical "failure" experienced is stretching of the link and wear on the teeny pins that hold the breechblock and lever on.  Having to remake a couple links  to prevent "droopitis" after shooting some of the stiffer loads eventually induces the enthusiast to moderate his powder charges.

There is no doubt that more care in loading, inspection and maintenance needs to be taken with a Ballard than, for instance, with a High Wall.  But to say that they are a disaster waiting to happen is more a nod to the modern trend of viewing everything with alarm than to the actual facts of the matter.

All the 44 1/2 actions are forgings.  Tensile strength 75k or more, while on good days malleable iron is never more than 45k.

One does wonder how the 44 1/2 can be so accurate, when the barrel is so "loose".