diff --git a/ImageGallery/src/org/sleuthkit/autopsy/imagegallery/actions/Bundle.properties-MERGED b/ImageGallery/src/org/sleuthkit/autopsy/imagegallery/actions/Bundle.properties-MERGED
index 3ac90630fa..32b96181cb 100755
--- a/ImageGallery/src/org/sleuthkit/autopsy/imagegallery/actions/Bundle.properties-MERGED
+++ b/ImageGallery/src/org/sleuthkit/autopsy/imagegallery/actions/Bundle.properties-MERGED
@@ -35,6 +35,8 @@ OpenAction.multiUserDialog.Header=Multi-user Image Gallery
 OpenAction.noControllerDialog.header=Cannot open Image Gallery
 OpenAction.noControllerDialog.text=An initialization error ocurred.\nPlease see the log for details.
 OpenAction.notAnalyzedDlg.msg=No image/video files available to display yet.\nPlease run FileType and EXIF ingest modules.
+OpenAction.openTopComponent.error.message=An error occurred while attempting to open Image Gallery.
+OpenAction.openTopComponent.error.title=Failed to open Image Gallery
 OpenAction.stale.confDlg.msg=The image / video database may be out of date. Do you want to update and listen for further ingest results?\nChoosing 'yes' will update the database and enable listening to future ingests.
 OpenAction.stale.confDlg.title=Image Gallery
 OpenExternalViewerAction.displayName=External Viewer
diff --git a/ImageGallery/src/org/sleuthkit/autopsy/imagegallery/actions/OpenAction.java b/ImageGallery/src/org/sleuthkit/autopsy/imagegallery/actions/OpenAction.java
index dec4d44c31..2df0ee2ed1 100644
--- a/ImageGallery/src/org/sleuthkit/autopsy/imagegallery/actions/OpenAction.java
+++ b/ImageGallery/src/org/sleuthkit/autopsy/imagegallery/actions/OpenAction.java
@@ -34,6 +34,7 @@ import javafx.stage.Modality;
 import javax.swing.ImageIcon;
 import javax.swing.JButton;
 import javax.swing.JMenuItem;
+import javax.swing.JOptionPane;
 import javax.swing.SwingUtilities;
 import org.openide.awt.ActionID;
 import org.openide.awt.ActionReference;
@@ -43,6 +44,7 @@ import org.openide.util.HelpCtx;
 import org.openide.util.NbBundle;
 import org.openide.util.NbBundle.Messages;
 import org.openide.util.actions.CallableSystemAction;
+import org.openide.windows.WindowManager;
 import org.sleuthkit.autopsy.casemodule.Case;
 import org.sleuthkit.autopsy.casemodule.NoCurrentCaseException;
 import org.sleuthkit.autopsy.core.Installer;
@@ -292,13 +294,15 @@ public final class OpenAction extends CallableSystemAction {
         );
     }
 
+    @Messages({"OpenAction.openTopComponent.error.message=An error occurred while attempting to open Image Gallery.",
+               "OpenAction.openTopComponent.error.title=Failed to open Image Gallery"})
     private void openTopComponent() {
         SwingUtilities.invokeLater(() -> {
             try {
                 ImageGalleryTopComponent.openTopComponent();
             } catch (TskCoreException ex) {
                 logger.log(Level.SEVERE, "Failed to open Image Gallery top component", ex); //NON-NLS}
-                // TODO (JIRA-5217): Give the user some feedback here
+                JOptionPane.showMessageDialog(WindowManager.getDefault().getMainWindow(), Bundle.OpenAction_openTopComponent_error_message(), Bundle.OpenAction_openTopComponent_error_title(), JOptionPane.PLAIN_MESSAGE);
             }
         });
     }