diff --git a/src/Mod/Part/App/modelRefine.cpp b/src/Mod/Part/App/modelRefine.cpp
index b98e04e14a..bc941cc2de 100644
--- a/src/Mod/Part/App/modelRefine.cpp
+++ b/src/Mod/Part/App/modelRefine.cpp
@@ -896,7 +896,7 @@ bool FaceTypedBSpline::isEqual(const TopoDS_Face &faceOne, const TopoDS_Face &fa
   {
     Handle(Standard_Failure) e = Standard_Failure::Caught();
     std::ostringstream stream;
-    if (e->GetMessageString())
+    if (!e.IsNull() && e->GetMessageString())
       stream << "FaceTypedBSpline::isEqual: OCC Error: " << e->GetMessageString() << std::endl;
     else
       stream << "FaceTypedBSpline::isEqual: Unknown OCC Error" << std::endl;