diff --git a/src/ExprNode.cc b/src/ExprNode.cc
index 26d80ed9e34532ba5a94083df9d3dabc364cc2a0..b3b31d71e844c31d365d59993608baedef240a99 100644
--- a/src/ExprNode.cc
+++ b/src/ExprNode.cc
@@ -422,7 +422,7 @@ ExprNode::fillErrorCorrectionRow(int eqn, const vector<int>& nontarget_lhs,
                      << endl;
                 exit(EXIT_FAILURE);
               }
-            if (*param_id)
+            if (param_id)
               {
                 cerr
                     << "ERROR in trend component model: spurious parameter in error correction term"