diff --git a/lib/core/src/Cardano/Pool/DB/Sqlite.hs b/lib/core/src/Cardano/Pool/DB/Sqlite.hs
index 3c3d96c2be0..b8b94c48c53 100644
--- a/lib/core/src/Cardano/Pool/DB/Sqlite.hs
+++ b/lib/core/src/Cardano/Pool/DB/Sqlite.hs
@@ -382,8 +382,12 @@ newDBLayer trace fp timeInterpreter = do
             rights . fmap safeCast <$> rawSql query parameters
 
         listPoolLifeCycleData epochNo =
-            rights . fmap parseRow <$> rawSql query parameters
+            fmap (assertSuccess . parseRow) <$> rawSql query parameters
           where
+            assertSuccess = flip either id $ \e -> error $ mconcat
+                [ "Unexpected failure to parse pool lifecycle data: "
+                , show e
+                ]
             query = T.unwords
                 [ "SELECT *"
                 , "FROM active_pool_lifecycle_data"