diff --git a/hw/xfree86/common/xf86Xinput.c b/hw/xfree86/common/xf86Xinput.c
index 26051ad7f..d22fdc8b9 100644
--- a/hw/xfree86/common/xf86Xinput.c
+++ b/hw/xfree86/common/xf86Xinput.c
@@ -844,6 +844,7 @@ xf86NewInputDevice(InputInfoPtr pInfo, DeviceIntPtr *pdev, BOOL enable)
         {
             OsReleaseSignals();
             xf86Msg(X_ERROR, "Couldn't init device \"%s\"\n", pInfo->name);
+            RemoveDevice(dev, TRUE);
             rval = BadMatch;
             goto unwind;
         }