diff --git a/qtest.c b/qtest.c
index a738afc..ae941d6 100644
--- a/qtest.c
+++ b/qtest.c
@@ -507,12 +507,18 @@
     return 0;
 }
 
-void qtest_init(const char *qtest_chrdev, const char *qtest_log)
+void qtest_init(const char *qtest_chrdev, const char *qtest_log, Error **errp)
 {
     CharDriverState *chr;
 
     chr = qemu_chr_new("qtest", qtest_chrdev, NULL);
 
+    if (chr == NULL) {
+        error_setg(errp, "Failed to initialize device for qtest: \"%s\"",
+                   qtest_chrdev);
+        return;
+    }
+
     qemu_chr_add_handlers(chr, qtest_can_read, qtest_read, qtest_event, chr);
     qemu_chr_fe_set_echo(chr, true);