Southern Motor Lines Co. v. Alvis

In Southern Motor Lines Co. v. Alvis, 200 Va. 168, 104 S.E.2d 735 (1958), the Supreme Court recognized the following presumption: Where an employee is found dead as the result of an accident at his place of work or near-by, where his duties may have called him during the hours of his work, and there is no evidence offered to show what caused the death or to show that he was not engaged in his master's business at the time, the court will indulge the presumption that the relation of master and servant existed at the time of the accident and that it arose out of and in the course of his employment. 200 Va. at 171-72, 104 S.E.2d at 738.