Sachs, Supreme Court hammer GM, Ford. (labor attorney Theodore Sachs wins workers' compensation case against General Motors and Ford Motor Co.)

Theodore Sachs, touted as Detroit's Perry Mason of labor attorneys, dealt a crippling blow to General Motors and Ford Motor Co. on the issue of workers' compensation.

In a unanimous decision, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected the automakers' challenge to an amendment to Michigan's workers' compensation law. Sachs argued the case, General Motors v. Romein, on behalf of hundreds of UAW workers who stood to lose millions as a result of the automakers' position.

Sachs says the decision is critical for two reasons. "The immediate impact of this decision is to redress what I consider to be a terrible injustice. It means that more than $25 million, with interest, will be …