diff --git a/protocol/connections/engine.go b/protocol/connections/engine.go
index dfb1ee8..e34ec7c 100644
--- a/protocol/connections/engine.go
+++ b/protocol/connections/engine.go
@@ -591,8 +591,7 @@ func (e *engine) sendPeerMessage(handle string, message model3.PeerMessage) erro
 	if err == nil {
 		peerApp, ok := (conn.App()).(*PeerApp)
 		if ok {
-			peerApp.SendMessage(message)
-			return nil
+			return peerApp.SendMessage(message)
 		}
 	}
 	log.Errorf("could not send peer message: %v", err)
diff --git a/protocol/connections/peerapp.go b/protocol/connections/peerapp.go
index f4448e2..f884314 100644
--- a/protocol/connections/peerapp.go
+++ b/protocol/connections/peerapp.go
@@ -108,10 +108,14 @@ func (pa *PeerApp) listen() {
 
 // SendMessage sends the peer a preformatted message
 // NOTE: This is a stub, we will likely want to extend this to better reflect the desired protocol
-func (pa *PeerApp) SendMessage(message model2.PeerMessage) {
+func (pa *PeerApp) SendMessage(message model2.PeerMessage) error {
 	if message.Context == event.ContextGetVal {
 		pa.getValRequests.Store(message.ID, string(message.Data))
 	}
-	serialized, _ := json.Marshal(message)
-	pa.connection.Send(serialized)
+	serialized, err := json.Marshal(message)
+	if err == nil {
+		pa.connection.Send(serialized)
+		return nil
+	}
+	return err
 }