diff --git a/test/helpers/contract/compileAndDeploy.js b/test/helpers/contract/compileAndDeploy.js
index c0cd57d9f6..754a00a550 100644
--- a/test/helpers/contract/compileAndDeploy.js
+++ b/test/helpers/contract/compileAndDeploy.js
@@ -33,6 +33,11 @@ function compile(mainContractName, contractFileNames = [], contractSubdirectory,
 
   const result = JSON.parse(solc.compile(JSON.stringify(input)));
 
+  if (result.errors && result.errors.some((error) => error.severity === "error")) {
+    const errorMessages = result.errors.map((error) => error.formattedMessage);
+    throw new Error(`Could not compile test contracts:\n${errorMessages.join("")}`);
+  }
+
   const _mainContractName = mainContractName.endsWith(".sol")
     ? mainContractName.replace(/\.sol$/i, "")
     : mainContractName;