diff --git a/icu4c/source/common/uscript.c b/icu4c/source/common/uscript.c
index 757593a877a..855c41867e6 100644
--- a/icu4c/source/common/uscript.c
+++ b/icu4c/source/common/uscript.c
@@ -518,7 +518,12 @@ uscript_openRun(const UChar *src, int32_t length, UErrorCode *pErrorCode)
 
     uscript_setRunText(result, src, length, pErrorCode);
 
-    /* FIXME: should we free result if setRunText fails? */
+    /* Release the UScriptRun if uscript_setRunText() returns an error */
+    if (U_FAILURE(*pErrorCode)) {
+        uprv_free(result);
+        result = NULL;
+    }
+
     return result;
 }