diff --git a/src/libCom/osi/os/posix/osdMutex.c b/src/libCom/osi/os/posix/osdMutex.c
index b9e874b44..ec1e7097c 100644
--- a/src/libCom/osi/os/posix/osdMutex.c
+++ b/src/libCom/osi/os/posix/osdMutex.c
@@ -80,7 +80,9 @@ epicsMutexOSD * epicsMutexOsdCreate(void) {
 
     status = pthread_mutexattr_settype(&pmutex->mutexAttr,
         PTHREAD_MUTEX_RECURSIVE);
-    if (errVerbose) checkStatus(status, "pthread_mutexattr_settype");
+    checkStatus(status, "pthread_mutexattr_settype");
+    if (status)
+        goto fail;
 
     status = pthread_mutex_init(&pmutex->lock, &pmutex->mutexAttr);
     if (status)