diff --git a/fs/bcachefs/btree_node_scan.c b/fs/bcachefs/btree_node_scan.c
index b28c649c6838..df7090ca1e81 100644
--- a/fs/bcachefs/btree_node_scan.c
+++ b/fs/bcachefs/btree_node_scan.c
@@ -281,6 +281,10 @@ static int read_btree_nodes(struct find_btree_nodes *f)
 			closure_put(&cl);
 			f->ret = ret;
 			bch_err(c, "error starting kthread: %i", ret);
+			if (IS_ERR(t)) {
+				closure_sync(&cl);
+				return PTR_ERR(t);
+			}
 			break;
 		}
 	}