diff --git a/field_collection.module b/field_collection.module
index 0864010..aa44e17 100644
--- a/field_collection.module
+++ b/field_collection.module
@@ -1404,7 +1404,9 @@ function field_collection_field_widget_embed_validate($element, &$form_state, $c
 
   // We have to populate the field_collection_item before we can attach it to
   // the form.
-  if (isset($field_state['entity'][$element['#delta']])) {
+  // We need to check that the item is not empty because it could be just the
+  // empty field collection added to the form by default.
+  if (isset($field_state['entity'][$element['#delta']]) && !field_collection_item_is_empty($field_state['entity'][$element['#delta']])) {
     $field_collection_item = $field_state['entity'][$element['#delta']];
   }
   elseif ($form_state['values'][$field_state['array_parents'][0]][$field_state['array_parents'][1]][$element['#delta']]) {