diff --git a/src/epics/util/lib/IPCx.pm b/src/epics/util/lib/IPCx.pm
index e3cc4915db8d809e8ef18cdcf16a45a6b1c3f9b7..714f86e114fa84f2c02455400113e00683b1d2eb 100644
--- a/src/epics/util/lib/IPCx.pm
+++ b/src/epics/util/lib/IPCx.pm
@@ -343,7 +343,7 @@ if ($::ipcxCnt > 0) {
 
     #Create the file if it doesn't exist
     if( !-e $iFile) {
-        open my $fc, ">", $iFile or "***ERROR: Could not create the empty IPCx parameter file $iFile\n";
+        open my $fc, ">", $iFile or die "***ERROR: Could not create the empty IPCx parameter file $iFile\n";
         close $fc;
     }