diff --git a/litellm/proxy/hooks/model_max_budget_limiter.py b/litellm/proxy/hooks/model_max_budget_limiter.py
index a69240a457c..e360b97c3bd 100644
--- a/litellm/proxy/hooks/model_max_budget_limiter.py
+++ b/litellm/proxy/hooks/model_max_budget_limiter.py
@@ -152,13 +152,16 @@ class _PROXY_VirtualKeyModelMaxBudgetLimiter(RouterBudgetLimiting):
 
         A pod-local in-memory value can lag the shared total, so `async_get_cache`
         (which returns an in-memory hit before consulting Redis) must not be used
-        here. Local memory is only read as a fallback when Redis is not configured.
-        `redis_cache.async_get_cache` already handles its own connection errors and
-        returns None, so no additional error handling is needed.
+        here. Redis is read first; the pod-local value is only used as a fallback
+        when Redis is not configured or returns nothing (for example during a Redis
+        outage, since `redis_cache.async_get_cache` swallows connection errors and
+        returns None), which preserves per-pod enforcement instead of failing open.
         """
         redis_cache = self.dual_cache.redis_cache
         if redis_cache is not None:
-            return await redis_cache.async_get_cache(key=cache_key)
+            redis_spend = await redis_cache.async_get_cache(key=cache_key)
+            if redis_spend is not None:
+                return redis_spend
         return await self.dual_cache.async_get_cache(key=cache_key, local_only=True)
 
     async def _get_end_user_spend_for_model(
diff --git a/tests/proxy_unit_tests/test_unit_test_max_model_budget_limiter.py b/tests/proxy_unit_tests/test_unit_test_max_model_budget_limiter.py
index 091562dbb69..82b568d160a 100644
--- a/tests/proxy_unit_tests/test_unit_test_max_model_budget_limiter.py
+++ b/tests/proxy_unit_tests/test_unit_test_max_model_budget_limiter.py
@@ -676,3 +676,37 @@ async def test_admission_falls_back_to_local_spend_when_redis_unavailable():
 
     with pytest.raises(litellm.BudgetExceededError):
         await limiter.is_key_within_model_budget(user_api_key, model)
+
+
+@pytest.mark.asyncio
+async def test_admission_falls_back_to_local_spend_when_redis_returns_nothing():
+    """
+    Redis is configured but unreachable (its get swallows the error and returns
+    None). The limiter must fall back to the pod-local spend and keep enforcing
+    per-pod, rather than failing open and admitting every request.
+    """
+    budget = 100.0
+    local_spend = 150.0
+
+    model = "gpt-4"
+    budget_duration = "1d"
+    token = "test-key"
+    cache_key = f"{VIRTUAL_KEY_SPEND_CACHE_KEY_PREFIX}:{token}:{model}:{budget_duration}"
+
+    unreachable_redis = _SharedRedisCache(store={})
+
+    dual_cache = DualCache()
+    dual_cache.redis_cache = unreachable_redis
+    await dual_cache.async_set_cache(key=cache_key, value=local_spend, local_only=True)
+
+    limiter = _PROXY_VirtualKeyModelMaxBudgetLimiter(dual_cache=dual_cache)
+    user_api_key = UserAPIKeyAuth(
+        token=token,
+        key_alias="test-alias",
+        model_max_budget={model: {"budget_limit": budget, "time_period": budget_duration}},
+    )
+
+    with pytest.raises(litellm.BudgetExceededError) as exc_info:
+        await limiter.is_key_within_model_budget(user_api_key, model)
+    assert exc_info.value.current_cost == local_spend
+    assert unreachable_redis.get_count >= 1