diff --git a/sch2fig/main.c b/sch2fig/main.c
index 87dfeba..310eaf4 100644
--- a/sch2fig/main.c
+++ b/sch2fig/main.c
@@ -40,6 +40,10 @@ static void read_file(const char *name, void *ctx,
 	char *nl;
 
 	file = fopen(name, "r");
+	if (!file) {
+		perror(name);
+		exit(1);
+	}
 	while (fgets(buf, sizeof(buf), file)) {
 		nl = strchr(buf, '\n');
 		if (nl)