I'm sorry to hear of such a mishap.

As JJ says there is never a need to expose your wing to the wind in a vertical position. You are vertical only when you are lined up with the trailer which is lined up with the wind. All maneuvering is always done with the wing flat. I've disassembled in windy conditions many times -- once in the middle of the night alone with a strong thunderstorm blowing in. If the wind is blowing you have to think it through.

JJ's comment about adding split plastic pipe might apply to an earliest version of sliding axle Wing Rigger before the development of the split cylinder locking clamp. The vast majority of sliding axle Wing Riggers were made (and still are made) with this amazingly effective clamp mechanism which asuredly does not need a plastic pipe helper.

Mark Mocho at MM Fabrication is on top of all this and his build quality is superb.