(a) Whenever a subsequent permanent injury occurs to an employee who has previously sustained a permanent injury, from any cause, whether in line of employment or otherwise, the employer for whom such injured employee was working at the time of such subsequent injury shall be required to pay only that amount of compensation as would be due for such subsequent injury without regard to the effect of the prior injury. Whenever such subsequent permanent injury in connection with a previous permanent injury results in total disability as defined in § 2326 of this title, the employee shall be paid compensation for such total disability, as provided in § 2324 of this title, during the continuance of total disability, such compensation to be paid out of a special fund known as “Workers’ Compensation Fund”; any insurance carrier desiring reimbursement from the Fund shall file a petition for payment, provided all claim for reimbursement shall be forever barred unless the insurance carrier files a petition with the Department for reimbursement for payments under this section within 2 years after the date on which the employee was first paid total disability benefits following the subsequent permanent injury.

(b) This section shall apply only to employers insured by insurance carriers. It shall not apply to self-insured employers who shall be responsible for payment of their own claims under this section and who shall not be eligible for further reimbursement for payments made under this section after the effective date of the Workers’ Compensation Improvement Act of 1997. Awards to self-insureds for reimbursements under this section are revoked as of the effective date of the Workers’ Compensation Improvement Act of 1997.

Code 1915, § 3193j; 29 Del. Laws, c. 233; 30 Del. Laws, c. 203, § 3; 32 Del. Laws, c. 186, § 2; Code 1935, § 6080; 43 Del. Laws, c. 269, § 8; 45 Del. Laws, c. 299, § 1; 46 Del. Laws, c. 30; 19 Del. C. 1953, § 2327; 58 Del. Laws, c. 531, § 6; 71 Del. Laws, c. 84, §§ 9, 12; 72 Del. Laws, c. 319, § 1.