diff --git a/Koha/Illrequest.pm b/Koha/Illrequest.pm
index aa5e16b8ba..831d6fa52d 100644
--- a/Koha/Illrequest.pm
+++ b/Koha/Illrequest.pm
@@ -242,14 +242,17 @@ sub logs {
 
     my $patron = $request->patron;
 
-Returns the linked I<Koha::Patron> object.
+For a given request, return the linked I<Koha::Patron> object
+associated with it, or undef if none exists
 
 =cut
 
 sub patron {
     my ( $self ) = @_;
 
-    return Koha::Patron->_new_from_dbic( scalar $self->_result->patron );
+    my $patron_rs = $self->_result->patron;
+    return unless $patron_rs;
+    return Koha::Patron->_new_from_dbic($patron_rs);
 }
 
 =head3 library