The first question is whether your stm32 will be the only master in your system. I2C is capable of being used in “multi-master“ systems although it is rare, and places extra responsibility on all masters including the stm32.
The most common “lockup” I experience with I2C is when I reset the stm32, either during debugging or due to a crash in my code. If that happens part-way through a byte then a peripheral might still want to send the remainder of the byte and so drive SDA low. The easiest way to fix this is, before using I2C for the first time coming out of reset, to “clock out” the byte by manually bit-banging 9 low pulses on SCL before issuing a “Stop Condition”. This will cleanly tell all peripherals to stop ongoing communication and be ready.
Of course you mustn’t do that if a different master is using the I2C bus.
Sadly this “clocking out” has to be done manually before enabling the I2C peripheral with HAL or your own code
