On android 4.4 webView.getHitTestResult() returns null

I'm running into an issue on kitkat (Android 4.4) devices running my app. The issue is that when I call getHitTestResult() on my webview it returns null, where as on any other version of Android it returns appropriate data. I'm not sure if this is a specific 4.4 bug or if there's a work around any one is aware of. Any help is much appreciated. Code is below:

    WebView myWebView = new WebView(getContext());
    HitTestResult hitResult = myWebView.getHitTestResult();

    if (hitResult != null && hitResult.getType() == HitTestResult.SRC_ANCHOR_TYPE) {
        CBDReaderWebClient client = new CBDReaderWebClient();
        ...
    }