diff --git a/crates/workspace/src/persistence.rs b/crates/workspace/src/persistence.rs
index 7cf764a5b4051d9f9b8332ecec97ad26eecd7103..2e66322f05be1f7de166450f2b5d4974734129c6 100644
--- a/crates/workspace/src/persistence.rs
+++ b/crates/workspace/src/persistence.rs
@@ -352,8 +352,7 @@ impl WorkspaceDb {
                 // Clear out panes and pane_groups
                 conn.exec_bound(sql!(
                     DELETE FROM pane_groups WHERE workspace_id = ?1;
-                    DELETE FROM panes WHERE workspace_id = ?1;))?(workspace.id)
-                .expect("Clearing old panes");
+                    DELETE FROM panes WHERE workspace_id = ?1;))?(workspace.id)?;
 
                 conn.exec_bound(sql!(
                     DELETE FROM workspaces WHERE workspace_location = ? AND workspace_id != ?