diff --git a/lib/errors.js b/lib/errors.js
index cf2f296d8..a62d45936 100644
--- a/lib/errors.js
+++ b/lib/errors.js
@@ -90,7 +90,7 @@ class ResponseError extends ElasticsearchClientError {
     super('Response Error')
     Error.captureStackTrace(this, ResponseError)
     this.name = 'ResponseError'
-    if (meta.body && meta.body.error && meta.body.status) {
+    if (meta.body && meta.body.error && meta.body.error.type) {
       if (Array.isArray(meta.body.error.root_cause)) {
         this.message = meta.body.error.type + ': '
         this.message += meta.body.error.root_cause.map(entry => `[${entry.type}] Reason: ${entry.reason}`).join('; ')