It's hard to blame them. I've been in similar situations multiple times where a requirement seems simple enough on the surface that you only get a few hours to work on it. But it's actually not that easy to write it cleanly.

That hacky workaround you're talking about? Well, my task depends on it. The workaround too depends on another hack. With the amount of time I have to work on it, it's a no brainer.

Earlier in my career, I tried to fix them, but they started to break other "hacks" and down the rabbit hole I go. Sometimes it's just not worth it.