diff --git a/pkg/testutils/sqlutils/sql_runner.go b/pkg/testutils/sqlutils/sql_runner.go
index 1305f595acb9..c6ee4d32b8e0 100644
--- a/pkg/testutils/sqlutils/sql_runner.go
+++ b/pkg/testutils/sqlutils/sql_runner.go
@@ -238,13 +238,18 @@ func (sr *SQLRunner) ExpectErrWithTimeout(
 	if d == 0 {
 		d = testutils.DefaultSucceedsSoonDuration
 	}
-	_ = timeutil.RunWithTimeout(context.Background(), "expect-err", d, func(ctx context.Context) error {
+	err := timeutil.RunWithTimeout(context.Background(), "expect-err", d, func(ctx context.Context) error {
 		_, err := sr.DB.ExecContext(ctx, query, args...)
 		if !testutils.IsError(err, errRE) {
 			return errors.Newf("expected error '%s', got: %s", errRE, pgerror.FullError(err))
 		}
 		return nil
 	})
+
+	// Fail the test on unexpected error message OR execution timeout
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("failed assert error: %s", err)
+	}
 }
 
 // Query is a wrapper around gosql.Query that kills the test on error.