diff --git a/drivers/i2c/busses/i2c-octeon.c b/drivers/i2c/busses/i2c-octeon.c
index 0e9f85d..56dbe54 100644
--- a/drivers/i2c/busses/i2c-octeon.c
+++ b/drivers/i2c/busses/i2c-octeon.c
@@ -218,7 +218,7 @@
 		return result;
 	} else if (result == 0) {
 		dev_dbg(i2c->dev, "%s: timeout\n", __func__);
-		result = -ETIMEDOUT;
+		return -ETIMEDOUT;
 	}
 
 	return 0;