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Originally Posted by curtis73
Ball joint wear can be tested with a pry bar, but a breaking ball joint is not something you can predict any more than you can predict a stone on your windshield.
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When ball joints do get extremely worn out, they do 'break' by coming apart and allowing the wheel to flop all around the place. I have seen this happen about a dozen times.
(This is more common than the metal itself in the joint breaking, although that does happen, but extremely rarely. )
As Curtis and super say, this extreme wear comes with lots of warning in the form of excessive noise and deteriorated handling. However, there are millions of drivers out there who would not recognise these symptoms and rely on a mechanic.
A good mechanic should check ball joint wear. They are obviously inspecting the steering for worn components; it only takes a minute or so to inspect the ball joints. It is in the best interest for the mechanic to do so, (more work for him). However, IMO the mechanic has no legal obligation to inspect them, unless you are paying him to specifically inspect the suspension components.