"failed to assume" is correct and can be used in written English.
For example: "The candidate failed to assume an official role in the company due to a lack of qualifications."
This work failed to assume an important place among Sikh exegetical works.
She seemed mystified by the male cheetah's eagerness and failed to assume a mating position.
This is one reason that China has failed to assume the leadership of the developing world as some had predicted.
The United States, in his view, "failed to assume the moral responsibility that we owed to those who worked so closely with us during those tumultuous years".
At one point on a recent evening, when poor Ms. Eagan was called upon to don a sequined red costume in midspeech, it failed to assume the proper shape, requiring her to explain that it was intended to be the Big Apple (rather than the squashed plum tomato it resembled).
The companies have sought to earn extra revenue by powering ads on other apps, yet failed to assume the necessary responsibility to ensure those apps aren't facilitating crimes.
These winter deaths should not be blamed solely on the cold weather, but rather also on governments who fail to assume responsibility for the poor and homeless.
More to the point, have you ever seen him, even in a small or fleeting role, fail to assume a commanding position — not hogging the limelight but pointing briskly to the unexpected heart of the film?
If, on the other hand, our phenomenologist makes use of that belief, then he is bound to violate the constraints put upon him by the local epoché: he cannot but fail to assume the phenomenological attitude.
Evidence shows that as governments in developing economies often fail to assume their role in creating and strengthening social institutions, SE might play a significant role in economic development and growth (Mair and Marti 2009).
And when you fail to assume those responsibilities, sooner or later you will also forfeit your rights".
