diff --git a/include/fcl/collision_object.h b/include/fcl/collision_object.h
index f23a8984796a9675794767c3cc6fc0ad7464b1e0..33b0aec89c80d21a4efe10962eebc26163e8e1b1 100644
--- a/include/fcl/collision_object.h
+++ b/include/fcl/collision_object.h
@@ -153,8 +153,11 @@ public:
  CollisionObject(const boost::shared_ptr<CollisionGeometry> &cgeom_) :
     cgeom(cgeom_), cgeom_const(cgeom_)
   {
-    cgeom->computeLocalAABB();
-    computeAABB();
+    if (cgeom)
+    {
+      cgeom->computeLocalAABB();
+      computeAABB();
+    }
   }
 
   CollisionObject(const boost::shared_ptr<CollisionGeometry> &cgeom_, const Transform3f& tf) :