diff --git a/cmd/koinos-block-store/main.go b/cmd/koinos-block-store/main.go
index 33b1f7a..c9c8fed 100644
--- a/cmd/koinos-block-store/main.go
+++ b/cmd/koinos-block-store/main.go
@@ -70,7 +70,8 @@ func main() {
 	logFilename := path.Join(util.GetAppDir(*baseDir, appName), logDir, "block_store.log")
 	err := log.InitLogger(*logLevel, false, logFilename, appID)
 	if err != nil {
-		panic(fmt.Sprintf("Invalid log-level: %s. Please choose one of: debug, info, warn, error", *logLevel))
+		fmt.Sprintf("Invalid log-level: %s. Please choose one of: debug, info, warn, error", *logLevel)
+		os.Exit(1)
 	}
 
 	// Costruct the db directory and ensure it exists
@@ -80,14 +81,20 @@ func main() {
 
 	var opts = badger.DefaultOptions(dbDir)
 	opts.Logger = bstore.KoinosBadgerLogger{}
-	var backend = bstore.NewBadgerBackend(opts)
+	backend, err := bstore.NewBadgerBackend(opts)
+
+	if err != nil {
+		log.Errorf("Could not open database, %s", err.Error())
+		os.Exit(1)
+	}
 
 	// Reset backend if requested
 	if *reset {
 		log.Info("Resetting database")
 		err := backend.Reset()
 		if err != nil {
-			panic(fmt.Sprintf("Error resetting database: %s\n", err.Error()))
+			log.Errorf("Could not reset database, %s", err.Error())
+			os.Exit(1)
 		}
 	}
 
diff --git a/internal/bstore/badger_backend.go b/internal/bstore/badger_backend.go
index 6dccaf5..64bdbac 100644
--- a/internal/bstore/badger_backend.go
+++ b/internal/bstore/badger_backend.go
@@ -14,9 +14,9 @@ type BadgerBackend struct {
 }
 
 // NewBadgerBackend BadgerBackend constructor
-func NewBadgerBackend(opts badger.Options) *BadgerBackend {
-	badgerDB, _ := badger.Open(opts)
-	return &BadgerBackend{DB: badgerDB}
+func NewBadgerBackend(opts badger.Options) (*BadgerBackend, error) {
+	badgerDB, err := badger.Open(opts)
+	return &BadgerBackend{DB: badgerDB}, err
 }
 
 // Close cleans backend resources
diff --git a/internal/bstore/reqhandler_test.go b/internal/bstore/reqhandler_test.go
index 6d1f91d..aaf78ea 100644
--- a/internal/bstore/reqhandler_test.go
+++ b/internal/bstore/reqhandler_test.go
@@ -37,7 +37,7 @@ func NewBackend(backendType int) BlockStoreBackend {
 			panic("unable to create temp directory")
 		}
 		opts := badger.DefaultOptions(dirname)
-		backend = NewBadgerBackend(opts)
+		backend, _ = NewBadgerBackend(opts)
 		break
 	default:
 		panic("unknown backend type")