diff --git a/src/dispatch/case/flows.py b/src/dispatch/case/flows.py
index 0736474f4cfa..51dee63b5507 100644
--- a/src/dispatch/case/flows.py
+++ b/src/dispatch/case/flows.py
@@ -744,6 +744,15 @@ def common_escalate_flow(
         db_session.add(incident)
         db_session.commit()
 
+    # we run the incident create flow in a background task
+    incident = incident_flows.incident_create_flow(
+        incident_id=incident.id,
+        organization_slug=organization_slug,
+        db_session=db_session,
+        case_id=case.id,
+    )
+
+    # we link the case to the incident
     case.incidents.append(incident)
     db_session.add(case)
     db_session.commit()
@@ -755,14 +764,6 @@ def common_escalate_flow(
         case_id=case.id,
     )
 
-    # we run the incident create flow in a background task
-    incident = incident_flows.incident_create_flow(
-        incident_id=incident.id,
-        organization_slug=organization_slug,
-        db_session=db_session,
-        case_id=case.id,
-    )
-
     # we add the case participants to the incident
     for participant in case.participants:
         # check to see if already a participant in the incident