it was impossible for anyone to track down the idiot responsible
This is what version control should absolutely not be used for. It's there to see what changes were made when (and why, if you have any sense), and allow reversion to older code. If you have to track down the person that wrote it to solve it, your code and documentation are of unacceptably poor quality and need improving.
To check quality of work, use code reviews and testing. If you start chucking blame around when errors are made, realise instead that errors are a fact of life, and use them as a learning exercise for general improvement. Flapping about in a panic or shouting at techies solves nothing, and is a sign that management needs to improve by being realistic and having processes in place to calmly deal with issues as they arise.
Biting the hand that feeds IT
