What would cauase a limit go bad in a furnace?
Reduced intake air is the most common cause.  This could be caused by a dirty filter, blocked/restricted returns, or any other restrictions of intake air.

The truth is, limit switches can only trip so many times before they break. Each time the furnace overheats and trips the limit; for whatever reason, the life of the switch is reduced.

It was likely not caused by a single trip. The problem will likely persist, if the root cause is not fixed.