diff --git a/docker_test_tools/environment.py b/docker_test_tools/environment.py
index f2db357..32d7835 100644
--- a/docker_test_tools/environment.py
+++ b/docker_test_tools/environment.py
@@ -229,7 +229,10 @@ def is_container_ready(self, name):
 
         :param str name: container name as it appears in the docker compose file.
         """
-        status_output = self.inspect_container(name)['State']
+        try:
+            status_output = self.inspect_container(name)['State']
+        except RuntimeError:
+            return False
 
         if 'Health' in status_output:
             is_ready = status_output['Health']['Status'] == "healthy"