diff --git a/pageindex/utils.py b/pageindex/utils.py
index 235dd09cc..b6683b171 100644
--- a/pageindex/utils.py
+++ b/pageindex/utils.py
@@ -173,7 +173,7 @@ def structure_to_list(structure):
     
 def get_leaf_nodes(structure):
     if isinstance(structure, dict):
-        if not structure['nodes']:
+        if not structure.get('nodes'):
             structure_node = copy.deepcopy(structure)
             structure_node.pop('nodes', None)
             return [structure_node]
diff --git a/tests/test_issue_330.py b/tests/test_issue_330.py
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..8429706e7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/test_issue_330.py
@@ -0,0 +1,27 @@
+import os
+import sys
+
+import pytest
+
+sys.path.insert(0, os.path.join(os.path.dirname(__file__), ".."))
+
+from pageindex.utils import get_leaf_nodes, list_to_tree
+
+
+class TestIssue330GetLeafNodes:
+    def test_leaf_node_without_nodes_key(self):
+        leaf = {"title": "Section", "start_index": 1, "end_index": 1}
+        result = get_leaf_nodes(leaf)
+        assert len(result) == 1
+        assert result[0]["title"] == "Section"
+        assert "nodes" not in result[0]
+
+    def test_tree_from_list_to_tree(self):
+        flat = [
+            {"structure": "1", "title": "Root", "start_index": 1, "end_index": 2},
+            {"structure": "1.1", "title": "Child", "start_index": 2, "end_index": 2},
+        ]
+        tree = list_to_tree(flat)
+        leaves = get_leaf_nodes(tree)
+        titles = {node["title"] for node in leaves}
+        assert titles == {"Child"}