diff --git a/compiler/typecheck/TcTyClsDecls.lhs b/compiler/typecheck/TcTyClsDecls.lhs
index dbf83fb56a6689964692ffb80fdfdd8bdbada381..76b9a9ee40e41a92538b31b5f5d556f04bca0348 100644
--- a/compiler/typecheck/TcTyClsDecls.lhs
+++ b/compiler/typecheck/TcTyClsDecls.lhs
@@ -1197,6 +1197,7 @@ wrongKindOfFamily family =
     kindOfFamily | isSynTyCon  family = ptext SLIT("type synonym")
 		 | isDataTyCon family = ptext SLIT("data type")
 		 | isNewTyCon  family = ptext SLIT("newtype")
+		 | otherwise = pprPanic "wrongKindOfFamily" (ppr family)
 
 emptyConDeclsErr tycon
   = sep [quotes (ppr tycon) <+> ptext SLIT("has no constructors"),