diff --git a/hw/xfree86/common/xf86Xinput.c b/hw/xfree86/common/xf86Xinput.c
index 96aff1538..a035fca7f 100644
--- a/hw/xfree86/common/xf86Xinput.c
+++ b/hw/xfree86/common/xf86Xinput.c
@@ -548,6 +548,7 @@ xf86NewInputDevice(IDevPtr idev, DeviceIntPtr *pdev, BOOL enable)
     if (rval != Success)
     {
         xf86Msg(X_ERROR, "Couldn't init device \"%s\"\n", idev->identifier);
+        RemoveDevice(dev);
         goto unwind;
     }