diff --git a/arches_vue_utils/src/arches_vue_utils/utils.spec.ts b/arches_vue_utils/src/arches_vue_utils/utils.spec.ts
index c83ae3b..cfa8066 100644
--- a/arches_vue_utils/src/arches_vue_utils/utils.spec.ts
+++ b/arches_vue_utils/src/arches_vue_utils/utils.spec.ts
@@ -17,6 +17,11 @@ function asLabel(valuetype_id: string, language_id: string): Label {
 }
 
 const systemLanguageCode = "en-ZA"; // arbitrary
+const emptyLabel = {
+    value: "",
+    language_id: "",
+    valuetype_id: "",
+};
 
 describe("rankLabel() util", () => {
     const rank = (
@@ -59,21 +64,21 @@ describe("rankLabel() util", () => {
 });
 
 describe("getItemLabel() util", () => {
-    it("Errors if no labels", () => {
-        expect(() =>
+    it("Returns empty label if no labels to search", () => {
+        expect(
             getItemLabel(
                 { labels: [] },
                 systemLanguageCode,
                 systemLanguageCode,
             ),
-        ).toThrow();
-        expect(() =>
+        ).toEqual(emptyLabel);
+        expect(
             getItemLabel(
                 { values: [] },
                 systemLanguageCode,
                 systemLanguageCode,
             ),
-        ).toThrow();
+        ).toEqual(emptyLabel);
     });
     it("Falls back to system language", () => {
         expect(
diff --git a/arches_vue_utils/src/arches_vue_utils/utils.ts b/arches_vue_utils/src/arches_vue_utils/utils.ts
index 3ffabde..f063c27 100644
--- a/arches_vue_utils/src/arches_vue_utils/utils.ts
+++ b/arches_vue_utils/src/arches_vue_utils/utils.ts
@@ -54,7 +54,11 @@ export const getItemLabel = (
 ): Label => {
     const labels = (item as WithLabels).labels ?? (item as WithValues).values;
     if (!labels.length) {
-        throw new Error();
+        return {
+            value: "",
+            language_id: "",
+            valuetype_id: "",
+        };
     }
     return labels.sort(
         (a, b) =>