Rusted wheel hub on trailer question

I was just wondering if anyone knows if an overly rusted wheel hub can lead to cracking causing a tire to puncture. I recently dropped a trailer and a few days later my saftey manager said the wheel was punctured even though I checked them all and the rusted wheel hub was cracked. It showed in the system that I was the last driver to operate with it. A lot of the trailers that I have been picking up at this company are old and rusted to ####. I can understand a little bit of rust here or there considering I live north of the border but I think they need replacing in order for us to perform well. Any thoughts or opinions on this?