diff --git a/src/main/java/com/google/api/generator/engine/ast/TryCatchStatement.java b/src/main/java/com/google/api/generator/engine/ast/TryCatchStatement.java
index f1e063479f..3634374259 100644
--- a/src/main/java/com/google/api/generator/engine/ast/TryCatchStatement.java
+++ b/src/main/java/com/google/api/generator/engine/ast/TryCatchStatement.java
@@ -64,6 +64,9 @@ public abstract static class Builder {
 
     public TryCatchStatement build() {
       TryCatchStatement tryCatchStatement = autoBuild();
+      NodeValidator.checkNoNullElements(tryCatchStatement.tryBody(), "try body", "try-catch");
+      NodeValidator.checkNoNullElements(tryCatchStatement.catchBody(), "catch body", "try-catch");
+
       if (!tryCatchStatement.isSampleCode()) {
         Preconditions.checkNotNull(
             tryCatchStatement.catchVariableExpr(),